Interventions by India for Advisory Committee on Enforcements 17th Session- 4-6 February 2025

OPENING STATEMENT

Thank you, Chair,

We congratulate the newly elected Chair and Vice-Chairs and express our sincere appreciation to the Secretariat for their commendable efforts in organizing this session.

Chair,

We recognize the importance of building respect for intellectual property (IP) through awareness campaigns, especially among the youth. We believe that integration of IP education into national priorities will drive growth and innovation.

As part of India’s continuous efforts to raise IP awareness and build respect of IP, we have been conducting awareness programs under National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) for the past three years. NIPAM educates students, teachers, and entrepreneurs, empowering them with the knowledge to safeguard their intellectual creations and fostering a culture of respect for IP. Recently, we have also begun issuing Certificates of Inventorship to inventors, recognizing their contributions. We will be presenting more details about our IP awareness initiatives through my participation in one of the panel discussions today.

India is committed in building a fair and accessible IP enforcement system that serves the public interest, ensuring equitable dispute resolution and justice for all. In our ongoing efforts to combat film piracy, we have amended the Cinematograph Act, 1952, through the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, imposing stringent penalties for illegal recording and exhibition of films. Over the past few years, a total of 140 IP Enforcement programs have been undertaken across India, targeting various law enforcement agencies, including the Police, Judiciary, and Customs.

Chair,

We would urge the committee to consider a broader approach to IP enforcement, in line with the Development Agenda Recommendation 45, Article 7 of TRIPS and the ACE mandate, ensuring that IP enforcement supports both technological innovation and broader social and economic development goals, while maintaining a balance of rights and obligations. This should be reflected in the work of WIPO on ground and in the programmes being conducted on ground.

Through our collaborative efforts, we are confident that we can build stronger and more effective IP enforcement systems, contributing to a more innovative, sustainable, and equitable global economy.

Thank you, Chair.

6 February 2025-Agenda Item 7 Work of the ACE

Recent activities of WIPO in building respect for IP WIPO/ACE/17/2

Thank you chair for giving me the floor.

Enforcement is vital component of IP regime. The Indian delegation thanks Secretariat and all present for organizing an informative exchange of information.

India continues to believe that the work of ACE should be in accordance with the Development Agenda Recommendation 45. We would like WIPO to focus on issues like promotion of technology transfer and knowledge sharing, ensuring that all countries have the opportunity to contribute and benefit.

Approach to enforcement should be broad and holistic to ensure it is in line with the objectives of Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement as well. Some of the discussions on development, access to technology and digital transformations happening at the global multilateral for should have a resonance in WIPO’s work on ground as well, including under the enforcement spectrum. We look forward to working closely with WIPO under ACE.

Thank you.

Presentation_by_India_during_ACE_program_3_Feb_25.pdf