US praise for India’s IP steps

In its latest 301 annual report, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said that the new recruitment and training of new patent and trademark examiners should help to reduce significant delays in processing applications. It praised other Indian measures, but noted that these are not enough to remove India from the Priority Watch List, indicating that it will wait for some time before India is excluded from this list. 

Meanwhile, in a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, US lawmakers expressed concerns over the Obama Administration’s decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. “Many members of Congress, seriously question the judgment and timing of such a sale. Indo—Pak tensions remain elevated and some question whether the F-16s could ultimately be used against India or other regional powers, rather than the terrorists as Pakistan as asserted,” Congressman Matt Salmon said. 

The US Senate has currently put on hold the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan at an estimated cost of $700 million.