India: Analysis: Parliamentary Standing Committee's 161st Report On ‘IPR Regime In India'

ISSUES

• A Central Coordination Body on IP Enforcement can be established for undertaking coordinative efforts by involving various Ministries, Departments, and Governmental agencies in the enforcement and adjudication of IP laws to check IP crimes in the country.
• It should be ensured that there is an on-ground implementation of stringent IP legislations with a stronger Inter-Departmental collaboration on IP crimes.
• Specific legislation to curb counterfeiting and piracy should be enacted to restrain the growing menace of such IP crimes in India. The Committee was of the opinion that a determinate method to estimate the revenue losses being incurred due to counterfeiting and piracy and the level of such crimes being committed in India should be devised. This would act as a significant tool in analyzing the adverse impact of Counterfeiting and Piracy on India's economy and for implementing corrective measures to curb the rising incidents of such crimes.

Advancement in technology and the consumer fascination with branded goods has led to a widespread increase in counterfeiting & piracy. This has become a major concern globally as brands are desperate for relief from counterfeiters, who misuse their name by manufacturing and selling inferior quality products and passing them off as authentic and are thereby earning huge profits.

Counterfeiting and Piracy are the rising threats to IPRs which should be regulated and adeptly handled by taking appropriate measures. As it is rightly noted in the report as well that separate legislation along with efforts for its effective implementation is the need of the hour.

Counterfeiting and Piracy and rob the innovators in an economy of their intellectual property rights, and this creates significant harm, not only to the innovators but to consumers and the economy in general.¹ The quantum of loss due to Counterfeiting and Piracy is huge and until now there is no approved method of calculating the same.

Devising a method to compute the loss coupled with the establishment of an IP Enforcement Agency regulated through dedicated legislation would facilitate combating limit the IP crimes and also limiting the same.