USTR places India on 'Priority Watch List' for IP rights violations.

• The US said that these countries will be the subject of increased bilateral engagement with the USTR to address IP concerns.

• USTR will review the developments against the benchmarks established in the Special 301 action plans.

The US on Thursday placed India on its 'Priority Watch List' alleging lack of "sufficient measurable improvements" to its Intellectual Property (IP) framework on long-standing and new challenges that have negatively affected American right holders over the past year.

"Over the past year, India took steps to address intellectual property challenges and promote IP protection and enforcement. However, many of the actions have not yet translated into concrete benefits for innovators and creators, and long-standing deficiencies persist. India remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP," an official US report said.

The US Trade Representatives (USTR) in its report identified 11 countries, including India, in its 'Priority Watch List'. China, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela are among others. It has also placed 25 countries, including Pakistan and Turkey, on the Watch List.

In the report, the US said that these countries will be the subject of increased bilateral engagement with the USTR to address IP concerns.(Source: Livemint)