India-USA MoU on Intellectual Property cooperation

India and the United States recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual Property Cooperation. The agreement was signed between the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The agreement will increase the Intellectual Property Cooperation between the countries.

The agreement was signed after ten months the Union Cabinet approved to enter into the MoU.

Key Features of the MoU

• The agreement will facilitate exchange of best practices, experience between the industries, research and development organisations, Universities and small and medium-sized Enterprises.
• The agreement will encourage collaboration in exchange of experts, training programmes, outreach activities and Technical exchanges.
• It will provide best practices on processes for examination of application of trademarks, Geographical Indications, patents and industrial designs. It will also include enforcement, protection and use of intellectual property rights.
• It will help in exchange of information on modernization projects, procedure for management of intellectual patent office services and documentation and information systems in the intellectual patent.
• The agreement will foster the cooperation between the countries on various issues related to traditional knowledge.
• The agreement is to be implemented through a biennial work plan that will detail the cooperation activities.

The agreement signed was very similar to that signed with Denmark in September 2020.

India-Denmark IP

India recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with Denmark on Intellectual Property Cooperation. Through the agreement, the countries aimed to increase Intellectual Patent awareness among the public, research and education institutions and businesses in both the countries. The agreement called for collaboration in exchange of experts, training programmes and outreach activities.

This agreement was also signed by the DPIIT on behalf of India. The countries under the agreement will focus on trademarks, GI tags, patents, etc. India-Denmark biennial work plan is to be framed as that done under the Indo-US agreement.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020