New intellectual property policy

The government has announced a new intellectual property policy, speeding up the online registration of patents and trademarks.

• The new policy seeks to encourage innovation and improve access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection.

Highlights of the policy:

• The Policy will allow compulsory licensing with restrictions in case of a public health emergency such as epidemics and it is compliant with the World Trade Organization’s guidelines.
• The policy seeks to put in place a legal framework that will encourage the IPR regime and reduce the time taken by the government to approve a trademark to a month by 2017. Currently, the process takes more than a year.
• The policy makes the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal agency for regulating IP rights in the country.
• The Policy states “India shall remain committed to the (World Trade Organisation’s) Doha Declaration on Trade Related IPR Agreement (TRIPS) and Public Health.”
• It also says “India will continue to utilise the legislative space and flexibilities available in international treaties and the TRIPS Agreement.” These flexibilities include the sovereign right of countries to use provisions such as Section 3(d) and CLs for ensuring the availability of essential and life-saving drugs at affordable prices.
•  To ensure strong and effective IPR laws, the Policy states India will engage constructively in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements in consultation with stakeholders.

The Policy lays down the following seven objectives:

• IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion – To create public awareness about the economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society.
• Generation of IPRs – To stimulate the generation of IPRs.
• Legal and Legislative Framework – To have strong and effective IPR laws, which balance the interests of rights owners with larger public interest.
• Administration and Management – To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration.
• Commercialization of IPRs – Get value for IPRs through commercialization.
• Enforcement and Adjudication – To strengthen the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements.
• Human Capital Development – To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs.

Background:

The IPR policy approved by the Cabinet on Thursday night, comes in the backdrop of the US Trade Representative (USTR), in its annual (2016 edition) Special 301 Report (on the global state of IPR protection and enforcement) retaining India on the ‘Priority Watch List’ for “lack of sufficient measurable improvements to its IPR framework.”