|
| DIPP in mysterious pact on patents with Wipo | | NEW STRATEGY |
| Latha Jishnu / New Delhi Jan 25, 2010, 00:51 IST |
|
Agreement mentions India’s IP strategy and action plan, but govt declines to reveal what these contain.
India has signed an agreement with an international organisation to help it implement a national policy on intellectual property (IP) and innovation. However, it is a policy no one has seen or discussed in the country.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the commerce ministry’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) during the visit of its director-general, Francis Gurry, in November last year. Signing on behalf of the commerce ministry was outgoing DIPP secretary, Ajay Shankar.
The MoU, signed on November 13, as Gurry wrapped up a three-day, high-profile visit to India, is broadly aimed at strengthening cooperation on IP matters between the two sides.
But, a key focus of the agreement is the national IP and innovation strategy and an IP Development Action Plan for 2010-2011 which, the MoU states, will represent “activities identified as priority areas of cooperation”.
This is the first indication that India has drawn up a national IP and innovation strategy and that a two-year IP action plan has been put in place. However, none of the top industry bodies says it has seen such a strategy or action plan or been privy to any discussion on these.
Queries sent to the Confederation of India Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) have drawn a blank. Spokespersons for these apex organisations say they have not seen such a document.
Both had held round-tables on IP issues during Gurry’s visit. While the CII roundtable brought some 50 enterprise leaders from various sectors for a discussion on Wipo’s activities, the Ficci meeting was with representatives of the entertainment industry.
Top DIPP officials remain tight-lipped on the IP Development Plan. An industry source said, “requests for a copy of the plan have remained unanswered”.
According to this source, DIPP “is not even willing to share the contents of the MoU, leave alone the national IP innovation and innovation strategy, which has serious implications for key sectors of our economy”.
Similarly, requests from Business Standard for a copy of the policy and action plan have not been successful. Wipo, too, had not replied to an email about the IP Development Action Plan for 2010-2011.
A copy of the MoU is with BS and it shows the emphasis is on “a more intense, active and systematic” cooperation on IP matters. The centrepiece, though, is the national innovation and IP strategy “in the context of India’s national development priorities”. One worrying aspect, according to an official of an industry body who did not wish to be identified, is a clause in the agreement that states DIPP can “designate a third entity or entities to coordinate functions” under this agreement.
This has raised concerns about the necessity of involving unspecified third parties to implement IP policies which have a significant bearing on the prospects of several industries, not least pharmaceuticals.
D G Shah, secretary general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), which groups the country’s leading pharma producers and exporters, says: “It is odd that WIPO should be involved in the implementation of India’s national IP and innovation strategy and odder still that a third party should be engaged for this purpose. But, even more worrying, he says, is that no consultations were held with the industry or other stakeholder ministries.
Other ministries, such as human resources development and information and broadcasting, which have a sizable say in IP matters, do not appear to have been consulted. Shah claims the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers has not responded to the urgent clarifications that IPA sought from it.
The industry’s concerns stem from the fact that several provisions in Indian patent law have been challenged in different forums and so, secret plans formulated in consultation with Wipo could have a major impact on domestic industry.
“I am hoping that at least the Department of Pharmaceuticals would have been consulted, since industry was not, before finalising the strategy and Action Plan. But, the lack of transparency and some of the provisions contained in the MoU are clearly disturbing,” says the IPA chief.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
