India set to crack down on counterfeits and piracy

The Indian government has proposed new measures to tackle counterfeiting and online piracy.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade published its draft national e-commerce policy on 23 February.

In the draft, the government outlined new policy measures designed to tackle counterfeiting and piracy.

According to the report, “trademark owners shall be given the option to register themselves with e-commerce platforms”, and will be notified when a product bearing the mark is uploaded onto a platform.

If passed, trademark owners will also be able to require e-commerce platforms to ask permission before goods bearing their marks are offered for sale on their sites.

This requirement would be mandatory in the case of high-value luxury goods and goods which have an impact on public health.

India is also proposing to establish an infringing websites list (IWL), which would be drawn up by industry stakeholders.

Internet service providers would be required to disable access to websites named in the IWL “within set time limits”, the draft said.

Companies would also be forbidden from advertising on websites on the IWL.

Stakeholders have been invited to participate in a public consultation on the draft proposals, which will end on Saturday, March 9.