The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a comprehensive bilateral cooperation on intellectual property rights protection and enforcement. Under the terms of the MoU, the USPTO and DIPP will cooperate on a range of IPR issues, focusing on capacity building, human resource development, and raising public awareness of the importance of IPR.

The US has expressed that the memorandum has strengthened their commitment towards growing cooperation between the two offices. The Indian government envisions pedestaling the Indian IP system with the rest of the world by adopting transparent, automated and user-friendly procedures. It is believed that the MoU provides a sturdy framework for marching ahead in various areas to promote effective protection and enforcement of IP rights for the mutual benefit of innovators as well as enterprises.

India has been taking all pervasive steps to augment IP protection and enforcement in the country. Together with major amendments in patent laws in 2005, trademark and GI law in 2003 and impending copyright amendments, there have been notable developments on the traditional knowledge front. The digitization of all traditional knowledge of India into a database, the first of its kind has been hailed by the USPTO as well as EPO. Certain developing nations have expressed a desire to build up a similar database for themselves and even sought help from India. Moreover, the modernization of Indian IP offices, boosting of physical infrastructure, creation of awareness and stepping up enforcement activities has also drawn praises in the USTR 301 Report.

Under the MoU, the USPTO and the DIPP also signed an accompanying Action Plan to carry out specific activities under the MoU, including exposure to patent examination practices, exchanges of information on patent databases and patent manuals, IPR awareness and education programs, exchange of information on traditional knowledge and genetic resources, exchanges of best practices and other matters.

The two offices will immediately begin planning the implementation of these cooperative projects under the MOU.