Global Intellectual Property Order: Need For Consistency and Equity in Enforcement

Syllabus: GS3/Economy; Science & Technology

Context:

• Recently, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) had initiated a Section 301 investigation into Vietnam as it was designated as a ‘Priority Foreign Country’ in the Special 301 Report (2026) on account of some issues related to intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement.

Global Intellectual Property Order

• The global intellectual property order consists of international laws, institutions and instruments that regulate the creation, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs).
• Key Components:
  • TRIPS Agreement (WTO): The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) sets minimal standards for IP protection among WTO members.
    • It includes patents, copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications and trade secrets.
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): It is a UN specialised agency administering global IP treaties. It helps harmonise IP norms and innovations.
  • Unilateral Trade Measures: Tools such as USTR’s Special 301 Report evaluate a country’s IP regime and may result in trade investigations and sanctions.
• India continues to be listed as a Priority Watch List or Priority Foreign Country along with many developing countries. 
• Such repeated categorization raises concerns about the standards for evaluating the country’s compliance with IP regulations.

Need For Uniformity in IP Enforcement

• Selective Scrutiny: Many developing countries including India, Vietnam, and Indonesia are subjected to scrutiny.
  • However, similar scrutiny does not usually apply to developed economies in relation to issues such as misappropriation of traditional knowledge (TK) and genetic resources.
• Changing Norms Need Balancing: Recently adopted WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (2024) recognizes the requirement for transparency in patenting.
• Equity Principle: The credibility of the global IP regime calls for standards to be uniform; equal accountability of all the countries; and recognition of both private and community-based knowledge systems.

Issues and Concerns Related to Global IP Order

• Asymmetry Between Developed and Developing Countries: The developed countries have better technological abilities and they dominate in patent ownership.
  • Developing countries end up becoming net technology importers and paying huge royalties.
• Biopiracy and Misappropriation: TK and biological resources of nations rich in biodiversity get commercialized through exploitation and lack of proper consent and benefit-sharing.
  • Examples include the controversy over neem patent, the turmeric wound healing patent case, and the dispute over basmati rice patent.
• TRIPS-Plus Obligations: Bilateral and regional trade agreements contain IP provisions going beyond TRIPS obligations.
  • This would lead to restrictions on the policy space in matters of public health and agriculture.
• Effect on Development: The excessive IP protection would lead to higher costs of medicines, seeds, and technology.
  • It could negatively impact the developmental priorities of low- and middle-income countries.
• Insufficient Protection of Community Knowledge: Patent regime traditionally has only protected the individual inventions.

Concerns & Issues Specific to India

• Biopiracy: India has always raised examples where the traditional knowledge and biological resources had been exploited commercially without prior informed consent, acknowledgment of source and benefit-sharing.
• Protection of Traditional Knowledge: India has maintained that the indigenous communities are custodians of valuable knowledge systems but the existing IP regime has not taken into consideration their collective ownership.
• Flexibility: India has supported maintaining the TRIPS flexibilities concerning public health; food security; and affordable technology.

India’s Approach towards IP Enforcement

• National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, 2016: According to DPIIT, the policy is designed to encourage creativity and innovation; entrepreneurship; build awareness on IPRs; develop effective IP administration and enforcement; and commercialize IP assets.
  • Seven Pillars of the Policy: Awareness, generation of IPRs, legal and legislative framework, administration and management, commercialization, enforcement and adjudication, and human resource development.
• Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL): It is set up for documentation of traditional medicinal knowledge. This helps patent examiners in different countries identify the prior art and prevent the wrong patents.
• Enforcement Improvement: IP Offices modernization; digital examination and faster examination processes; and special IP divisions in courts.
• Legislative Balance: India is striving to maintain balance between incentivizing innovation and welfare of the people.

Way Forward: Towards Balanced IP Regime

• Uniform Application of IP Standards in Developed and Developing Countries
• Implementation of WIPO Treaty (2024)
• Effective mechanism against biopiracy and misappropriation;
• Equitable benefit-sharing with the indigenous communities;
• Maintaining TRIPS flexibilities in matters of public health and development
• Conservation of biodiversity through innovation policy
• Recognition of community-based knowledge systems as well as private IP

Source: BL