Ficci flays US bid to declare India 'Priority Foreign Country'

Industry body Ficci has voiced concerns against attempts being made by some American businesses to get India designated as a 'Priority Foreign Country', saying the country's intellectual property eco-system is robust and non-discriminatory.
"The effort being made to declare India as Priority Foreign Country is a unilateral action to create pressure on India to increase IPR protection beyond the TRIPS Agreement and aims to protect private corporate interests over national interests," Ficci said.
Ramping up their anti-India campaign, an influential section of American businesses, in particular those from the pharma and manufacturing sectors, last month urged the Barack Obama Administration to designate India as a Priority Foreign Country.

A Priority Foreign Country is a status reserved for those nations that are the most egregious violators of IP rights and have the most negative impact on US competitiveness.
"The fact that a number of cases are being appealed or being invalidated by the Indian courts only shows the robustness of the Indian intellectual property eco-system.
"There has been no concerted effort by the Indian system discriminating foreign companies and a number of Indian patents have also been invalidated," Ficci pointed out.
These corporates have alleged that India's trade practices are discriminatory and have failed to adequately protect and enforce intellectual property (IP).