India is one of the world’s most promising markets for just about any product, but that promise is held in check by the perils of piracy and counterfeiting. So the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) gathered Indian government officials and local business executives in New Delhi with member companies of Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) to discuss ways of accelerating local efforts to tackle this threat.

A mere 10 percent reduction in software piracy in India would create 115 000 new jobs and generate US$5 billion in sales and US$386 million in tax revenue, said Ashwani Kumar, India’s Minister of State for Industry, at the seminar. Mr Kumar pleaded with participants to lend their support in helping India fend off counterfeiting and piracy. While India has an intellectual property scheme in harmony with the World Trade Organization’s international TRIPS framework, Mr Kumar added: “We are equally conscious of the need to improve its effective implementation in both letter and spirit.”

Seminar participants were encouraged by the strides India has made in safeguarding intellectual property (IP) and the country’s grasp of the problem’s scope. The seminar dealt with ways the local government and business community can enlist in the battle against piracy and counterfeiting.

“Building local capacity and raising awareness among India’s state administrators, police and the judiciary on how to manage and enforce intellectual property following international best practices is urgently needed,” said session Chair Sudhir Jalan, a member of BASCAP’s Global Leadership Group. Mr Jalan also told seminar participants about FICCI’s National Initiative Against Piracy and Counterfeiting, which raises awareness of the problem and works with local organizations to reinforce IP enforcement.

“What’s needed is to strengthen IP infrastructure, train the staff of patent and other IP registration offices, and create effective documentation systems and databases,  to speed up the processing of patent applications,” Mr Jalan said.

In two lively panel discussions, Indian executives in the film, music, consumer goods and software industries shared their challenges and solutions for combating piracy and counterfeiting, principally detailing uses of innovative anti-theft technologies and  rigorous investigation. These included: Ashok Gupta, Vice President of Hindustan Lever Ltd.; David Benjamin, Senior Vice President, Universal Music; Brian Campbell, Director of Microsoft India and Raaja Kanwar, Vice Chairman of UFO Movies.

Several members of the Global Leadership Group enlisted participation from India and local businesses to join BASCAP, a cross-sector, cross-border initiative to educate policymakers on the urgent need to take action against this illegal activity. “BASCAP is aimed at increasing public awareness and understanding of piracy and counterfeiting, to urge governments to act and devote resources towards reinforcing IP enforcement and to create a culture where IP rights are respected and protected,” said Global Leadership Group member Jean-Rene Fourtou, who is also Honorary Chairman of ICC and Board Chairman of Vivendi.

Other members of the Global Leadership Group in attendance included Marcus Wallenberg, ICC’s Chairman and Chairman of SEB and ICC Secretary General, Guy Sebban. Among the other eminent speakers at the seminar were Manfred Gentz, President of ICC Germany and of Zurich Financial; VJ Lazarus, President of Indian Music Industry and Janelly Fourtou, a member of the European Parliament.