Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday dismissed the US allegations on intellectual property regime saying its laws are fully compliant with international agreements. Sharma said India's IPR laws are in compliance with the WTO norms.
"When it comes to intellectual property rights (IPR), I must firmly put on record that India is signatory to Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and our laws are fully compliant with the agreement of the WTO. India has never deviated, never diluted (its law)," he told reporters here.In fact, he said, due to the tough visa regime, skilled Indian professionals face issues travelling to the US."There are issues which India has raised, where we feel there is very high and unacceptable protectionism. Also their visa regime...We have objected because they (Indian skilled professionals) are not immigrants," the Minister said.
India had also raised concerns over hike in visa fee by the US, he added.The US industry and trade lobbies are putting pressure on their government to take action against India alleging New Delhi's IPR regime discriminates American companies, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector.