New Delhi: The Trump administration’s complaint that China’s unfair intellectual property (IP) practices are harming US’ long-term competitiveness should be worrisome for India as New Delhi has been on Washington’s Priority Watch List for more than a decade now.The annual Special 301 report identifies trade barriers to US companies due to intellectual property laws of other countries. India is among countries which have “serious intellectual property rights deficiencies” and do not give adequate protection to American firms. “This is a worrying trend for India because the Special 301 report talks about the perceived threat from our IP practices,” said an expert on trade issues.In last year’s report on India, the US had cited lack of sufficient measurable improvements to New Delhi’s IP framework on old challenges and new issues that have negatively affected US right holders, particularly with respect to patents, copyrights, trade secrets and enforcement. “Inadequate protection for trade secrets in a number of countries, notably in China and India, also puts US trade secrets at unnecessary risk,” it had said.The United States Trade Representative (USTR) will release this year’s report in April. Another analyst who tracks traderelated development closely, said: “The US has linked hi-tech intensive industry with IPRs and expanded the scope of actions beyond tariffs. We need to watch the next steps as it has come to IP now.”The USTR, in the report, had said longstanding IP challenges facing US businesses in India include those which make it difficult for innovators to receive and maintain patents here, particularly for pharmaceuticals and software, enforcement action and policies that are insufficient to curb the problem, copyright policies that do not properly incentivise the creation and commercialisation of content, and an outdated and insufficient trade secrets legal framework.Noting that India’s National Manufacturing Policy promotes compulsory licensing of patented technologies as a means of technology transfer with respect to green technologies, the USTR said it will discourage, rather than promote, investment in and dissemination of green technology innovation, including those technologies that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.