India Boosts IP Rights Enforcement

BANGALORE, India — The Ministry of Information Technology has amended its IP rights program to curtail patent infringement and adhere to international trade rules on intellectual property.

The move focuses on beefing up enforcement of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights provisions of the World Trade Organization.

While there have been no major complaints about India's IP protection framework, it is nevertheless amending its IP rights promotion program to avoid infringement resulting from widespread use of imported technologies here. Another goal is to promote awareness about patents within the researh community.

The ministry said it will also provide information regarding on patent searches and applications.

A patent watch center has also been created along with a pilot program to monitor software copying and a forum for Indian companies to learn more about patented technologies, the ministry added.

India operates several R&D organizations and funds dozens more. They filed a total of 56 new patent applications in 2005.