Consequences If India Fails to Act On IPR, Warns U.S. Lawmaker

WASHINGTON: A top U.S. lawmaker warned India of "consequences" on its continued violation of intellectual property rights hoping the new government will address America's concerns regarding its policies that undermine IP

In his June 25 letter to United States Trade Representative Michael Froman, Senator Orrin Hatch said: "I am hopeful that your efforts to engage India's new government will bear fruit and that the new government will address the concerns regarding India's policies that undermine intellectual property rights protection.

However, I believe there must be consequences if the new government fails to act."

Hatch, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, asked the U.S. to engage the new Indian government on intellectual property issues and report back on the findings of the Out of Cycle Review the trade office is currently conducting.

"I request that immediately following the conclusion of the OCR, you inform me in writing what actions you and the government of India have taken to ensure these serious problems are addressed.

At a minimum, I would expect such actions to include the development of a written, meaningful and effective action plan with definite timetables for implementation," Hatch said.

Enumerating India's violation of the IPRs, the Republican senator said: "India continues to ignore its international obligations and misuse its patent law to build up its domestic industry at the expense of U.S. innovators."

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