Trips-Plus Agenda Through Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: Implications for India

Abstract

In recent years, the developed countries have launched many initiatives and measures to tighten the enforcement of intellectual property. The aim is to get developing countries to take on TRIPS-Plus obligations that go beyond the already high standards of the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement. This strategy includes pushing TRIPS-Plus enforcement agenda in the disguise of combating counterfeiting and piracy through a proposed agreement called Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Although not participating in negotiations, developing countries like India will nevertheless find their domestic policy space reduced by ACTA as ACTA standards likely will be a requirement of future bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). In this regard, developing countries have expressed concern over the move by a select group of developed countries to foist the agenda of the proposed ACTA on them by widening the scope of protection beyond the TRIPS agreement. This article attempts to figure out the implications of ACTA for India, in particular its impact on India’s generic medicine export.