IPR and Competition Law: The Power Couple Demystified

As the enforcer of competition law, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) has been actively pursuing the objectives mandated by the Competition Act, 2002, and aligning Indian competition law with international best practices. However, there are some intrinsic interplays between several sector specific regulators and the CCI. Are you aware of the interplay between Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Competition Law in India, and the challenges it poses for a thriving ecosystem? Today, the central tenet of industrial organization is innovation. The global economy has changed to a production paradigm in which knowledge is a critical input and innovation is at the heart of this knowledge centric economy. An enterprise’s competitiveness is determined by its capacity to transfer knowledge into innovation and commercialize it. As a result, policymakers all around the world are emphasizing the importance of developing an ecosystem that fosters innovation. IPRs and Competition Law are two indispensable components that incentivize creativity and innovation, while simultaneously fostering economic growth in India. The future of innovation, competition, and economic growth depends on our ability to strike the right balance between IPR and Competition Law.  In this article, the author has tried to explore the relationship between the IPRs and the Competition Law and concluded that the union of IPRs and the Competition Act in India should not be seen as a clash, but as a union of harmony.