[Fsf-friends] 'India's Patents Act must extend to software'

[Frederick Noronha]

T H E   H I N D U
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 14, 2006
ePaper

`India's Patents Act must extend to software'

Special Correspondent

To become ICT superpower, India will have to recognise patenting

NEW DELHI: Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer,
Microsoft Corporation, on Wednesday voiced concern over the fact that
India's Patents Act still did not extend to intellectual property (IP)
protection of software and underlined the need for addressing this
issue urgently.

(India protects software only under its copyright law).

Addressing an interactive meeting on the `Role of IPR in the Knowledge
Economy' organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FICCI), Mr. Mundie pointed out that although India had
made a lot of progress in enforcing IPR, it had still to bear in mind
that for becoming an ICT (information and communication technology)
superpower it would have to recognise patenting as a standalone
enterprise.

This was a key component for moving India forward from a
manufacturing-services-led economy to an innovation-led economy, he
said.

"No field of scientific and engineering endeavour can progress without
the advancement of IT where software is the centrepiece,'' Mr. Mundie
said, and added that in the U.S., 30-40 per cent gains in productivity
in the Eighties were attributable to innovations.

ICT, he said, was at the heart of productivity increases in labour and
capital, lowering of transaction cost, innovation and further growth
in ICT to fuel economic growth.

R. A. Mashelkar, Director General, of Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), while giving a snapshot of the current
state of play in the IP sphere, noted that while some of the advanced
countries had benefited from strong IP laws, in a country like India
which had to look at the concerns of both top end and the bottom end
of the population, the issue of balance in the IP regime became
important.

Piracy in India, Dr. Mashelkar said, was a serious issue and it was
here that penalties had to be swift, sure and severe. A high-level
committee had made recommendations in this regard and the issue is at
an advanced stage of consideration of the government.

PTI reports:

Pre-paid computer cards

Microsoft on Wednesday said it would introduce pre-paid cards in India
that would enable customers to access the company's genuine software
without paying any fee upfront, a move apparently aimed at curbing
piracy of its software.
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