Think tank set up to draft IPR policy

The entity, to be chaired by Prabha Sridevan, would identify the areas in IPR that needed further study and furnish its views in this regard to the ministry

At a time when India’s intellectual property rights (IPR) regime is facing flak, particularly from the US, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under the commerce ministry has set up a six-member think tank to draft a National Intellectual Property Rights Policy.

The entity, to be chaired by Prabha Sridevan, former Madras High Court judge and former chairman of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board,  would identify the areas in IPR that needed further study and furnish recommendations in this regard to the ministry, said an official statement.

The think tank will provide views on the possible implications of the demands of negotiating partners in this regard and prepare periodic reports on best practices in other countries, according to the terms of reference.

Recently, the US Trade Representative launched an out-of-cycle review (OCR) of India’s IPR regime. Earlier this year, it’s annual review had again placed India on a ‘priority watch list’, which didn’t involve sanctions.

India argues differences over IPR should be resolved through a bilateral mechanism, instead of unilateral steps such as OCR.

US companies have been questioning India’s IPR laws since the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks decided to grant a compulsory licence to Natco Pharma to produce and sell generic versions of Bayer-Onyx’s cancer drug, Nexavar.

The new think tank will also advise the government on best practices to be followed in trademark offices, patent offices and other government offices pertaining to IPR. It will also keep the government informed of developments in IPR cases that could have an impact on India’s IPR policy. The government said it would also examine the issues raised by industry associations and in the media.

Other members of the group are lawyers Pratibha M Singh and Punita Bhargava; Unnat Pandit of Cadila Pharmaceuticals; Rajeev Srinivasan, director, Asian School of Business; and Narendra K Sabharwal, former deputy director general of World Intellectual Property Organization.