Industry body FICCI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday jointly launched the first-ever India-US dialogue on intellectual properties. 

Speaking on the occasion, Narendra Sabharwal, Chair, FICCI IPR Committee and Former Deputy Director General, WIPO said on Tuesday that India-US dialogue on IP-led innovation was positive and fruitful and indicated the resolve on both sides to identify and deliberate on IP related issues and sort out any differences through engagement and discussion.

Sabharwal added that "FICCI is committed to explore new areas of cooperation and partnership for establishing a favourable innovation and IP ecosystem in India, and addressing IP concerns of the business community on both sides which will give a boost to our dynamic trade and economic relations".

A strong and effective IP system is an essential policy tool for any country to accelerate national development and to stay globally competitive. U.S. and India are the two leading world economies and strategic partners and it is in their mutual interest to continue to engage and cooperate on IP issues of bilateral interest.

The discussions, which had the participation of representatives from both Governments, industry, academia and other IP stakeholders, provided an excellent opportunity to deliberate on various bilateral issues and challenges in the area of intellectual property.

The event was followed by a workshop on 31st October 2018 where experts from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Industry exchanged their experiences and best practices in patent filing with the Indian Patent Office on the areas like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.

India has a robust and balanced IP System which takes into account national development priorities and concerns while conforming to international commitments.

The National IP Policy announced in 2016 lays down an elaborate and comprehensive road map for overall future development of IP system in India.

Convening such bilateral dialogues periodically will provide an opportunity for constructive engagement on a range of IP issues of interest to India and the US and help further strengthen Indo-US partnership, said FICCI.