India has protested against the United States decision to place it on a watch list of a dozen countries it alleges have the worst record of preventing the theft of copyrighted material and other intellectual property.
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said a recent World Trade Organisation review found the country to be in compliance with all regulations, including the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which lays down minimum standards all member-states must adhere to.
The exchange came even as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna sparred over calls for India to scale back its trade relationship with Iran.
Mr. Sharma's letter argues that India has a stable intellectual property regime in place that is fully TRIPS-compliant, as well as a strong enforcement mechanism. “Legal developments in the copyright field are at an advanced stage and are awaiting the required parliamentary approvals,” it states.
“The application of law will be equal across residents of all countries, including India. Under these circumstances, may I request you to have a comprehensive relook at the Intellectual Property regime in India with an open mind. We would be happy to discuss any concerns which may persist on the matter,” it notes.
Intellectual property-intensive industries support as many as 4 crore jobs in the U.S., and up to 60 per cent of its exports, making the issue politically charged there.
The priority watch list carries no threat of sanctions, but hopes to embarrass the countries named into cracking down on piracy and counterfeiting and updating their copyright laws.
Russia had been on the list for 16 years and China for eight.
Some countries, the latest being Malaysia and Spain, have been dropped from the list in recognition of steps taken for strengthening the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and for issuing regulations to protect pharmaceutical test data.
