Introduction
On 15 July 2026, the India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) moves from negotiated text to commercial reality, opening a new phase in one of the most significant economic partnerships between two major economies. Entering into force alongside the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), the agreement converts the ambition of the 2021 Enhanced Trade Partnership and the India–UK Roadmap 2030 into what the Government of India describes as a “next generation economic corridor”[1].
Concluded on 6 May 2025 after fourteen rounds of negotiations and signed in London on 24 July 2025, the CETA is India’s most comprehensive trade agreement to date[2]. Its thirty chapters cover trade in goods, services across 137 sub-sectors, digital trade and, for the first time in an Indian bilateral agreement, government procurement[3].
However, the significance of the agreement extends far beyond tariff concessions. As Indian pharmaceutical companies, brands, software enterprises and creative industries expand into the UK market, and UK technology, investment and innovation flow into India, intellectual property protection becomes a central pillar of this economic relationship. Chapter 13 of the CETA provides the legal architecture that will shape this new commercial corridor.
Chapter 13: Intellectual Property as a Strategic Pillar
Chapter 13 establishes one of the most comprehensive IP frameworks negotiated by India in a trade agreement. The chapter covers nine areas: general IP principles; cooperation mechanisms; trade marks; geographical indications; patents; industrial designs; copyright and related rights; trade secrets; and enforcement[4].
Beyond substantive obligations, the chapter creates institutional mechanisms, including a standing Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, ensuring continued dialogue and implementation between both countries[5]. The framework seeks to balance two objectives: improving certainty and protection for businesses while preserving India’s policy space on public interest issues.
TRIPS Consistency and Public Interest Safeguards
The IP chapter is firmly anchored in the TRIPS Agreement. Both Parties reaffirm their existing TRIPS obligations while preserving their freedom to determine how those obligations are implemented domestically. The agreement also protects regulatory flexibility, recognising each Party’s ability to adopt measures to safeguard public health and nutrition, to promote the public interest in sectors vital to its development, and to prevent the abuse of IP rights or practices that unreasonably restrain trade[6].
The Parties expressly reaffirm the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, confirming their right to fully use TRIPS flexibilities and to promote access to medicines for all. At the same time, the agreement records voluntary mechanisms, such as voluntary licensing which may include technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, as the preferable and optimal route for improving access[7].
Both countries also reaffirm commitments under eleven major international IP treaties, including the Berne Convention, Paris Convention, Madrid Protocol and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The agreement further requires national treatment and online publication of IP laws and registers of granted rights[8]. The result is a framework that strengthens IP protection while maintaining the public-interest safeguards that have traditionally been important to India.
Trade Marks: Greater Certainty for Brand Owners
For businesses entering each other’s markets, the trade mark provisions create a predictable and enforcement-oriented framework. The chapter provides[9]:
- exclusive rights for registered trade marks, including a presumption of confusion in double-identity cases;
- protection of well-known marks without requiring registration;
- refusal or cancellation of applications filed in bad faith;
- reasoned examination decisions with opportunities for response and appeal, alongside opposition and cancellation procedures;
- electronic filing systems, publicly accessible databases and a minimum ten-year registration and renewal period; and
- recognition of remedies against bad-faith cybersquatting of country-code domains, which may include revocation, cancellation, transfer, damages or injunctive relief.
These provisions are particularly relevant for Indian brands seeking expansion into the UK’s highly developed consumer market.
Geographical Indications: Expanding Protection Through Cooperation
The GI provisions establish a structured bilateral mechanism for protecting geographical indications for wines, spirits, agricultural products and foodstuffs through sui generis systems. Protected names will be included in Annex 13B through a process managed by the IP Working Group, with both Parties aiming for an “equitable number” of recognised GIs from each side[10].
Protection extends beyond direct misuse and covers misleading use of protected names, acts of unfair competition, and uses that are literally true as to origin but falsely represent to the public where the goods originate. At the same time, the agreement preserves safeguards for generic terms and existing trade mark rights[11].
For India’s handicraft, natural and manufactured-goods GIs listed in Annex 13C, categories that do not currently fall within the UK’s sui generis GI schemes, the UK has committed to promote protection through collective and certification marks under its trade mark framework[12].
The chapter also creates future opportunities. If either country grants stronger GI protection to a third country, or substantively changes its own GI regime, consultations must follow. The UK must additionally review its laws on the protection of non-agricultural GIs within three years, and a separate review clause addresses the relationship between GIs and prior trade marks in light of any changes flowing from the UK’s accession to the CPTPP[13].
Patents: Balancing Innovation Protection and Access
The patent provisions follow TRIPS standards on patentable subject matter and permissible exclusions while expressly preserving each country’s TRIPS rights to authorise use of patented inventions without the right holder’s consent[14]. A significant provision for India’s pharmaceutical industry is the regulatory review exception, commonly known as the Bolar exception, which permits acts connected with obtaining regulatory approval for pharmaceutical products in either country or in a third country[15].
The chapter also introduces important procedural changes. Where pre-grant opposition mechanisms exist, opposed patent applications must be processed and disposed of within a reasonable period and without undue delay, supported by measures that may include an expedited route[16].
The agreement further recalibrates patent working disclosures. Neither Party may require annual working statements, and any periodic disclosure requirement must[17]:
- occur at intervals of no less than three years;
- keep confidential information out of the public domain, other than in exceptional circumstances; and
- not result in imprisonment for failure to disclose.
This will require adjustments to periodic working-statement practice and significantly reduce compliance burdens for patentees. Additional safeguards provide that a mere failure to supply information on corresponding foreign applications cannot justify refusal or revocation absent deliberate or wilful suppression, and that patent examination may draw on traditional knowledge prior art and databases such as India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, strengthening defences against biopiracy[18].
Designs and Copyright: A Balanced Settlement
Registered industrial designs must receive protection for a total term of no less than fifteen years, supported by electronic filing systems and rights against commercial dealings in articles bearing or embodying a copy, or substantially a copy, of the design[19]. These provisions are particularly relevant for sectors where design value drives competitiveness, including fashion, jewellery and consumer products.
On copyright, the agreement protects the full range of exclusive rights while adopting minimum terms that align with India’s existing standards: life plus 60 years for works, 60 years for phonograms, 50 years for performances and 25 years for broadcasts[20]. Unlike some trade agreements, the CETA does not immediately require India to adopt the UK’s longer copyright terms. However, the issue remains open: India must commence a domestic review of term extension within three years, and consultations will follow if India later legislates longer terms or agrees them with another country[21].
The chapter also provides for an artist’s resale right, an inalienable and unwaivable royalty on the resale of original artworks, with reciprocal application deferred until a well-functioning royalty mechanism is established to each Party’s satisfaction[22]. Additional protections apply against circumvention of technological protection measures and tampering with rights management information[23].
Trade Secrets: Strengthening Commercial Confidence
The trade secret provisions require both countries to provide legal means against the disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices, covering breach of contract, breach of confidence, inducement, and grossly negligent acquisition by third parties, while recognising legitimate activities such as reverse engineering, independent discovery and whistleblowing[24].
Civil remedies are supported by confidentiality protections during litigation, including restricted access to hearings and redacted judgments where necessary[25]. For technology companies, IT/ITES businesses, engineering firms and pharmaceutical collaborations, these provisions create a stronger common baseline for protecting confidential commercial information.
Enforcement: Building a Modern IP Protection System
The enforcement provisions form the operational backbone of Chapter 13. Civil courts must have authority to grant interim injunctions, including against intermediaries whose services are used to infringe; preserve evidence, including through ex parte measures where delay could cause irreparable harm; freeze assets in commercial-scale infringement cases; award damages and costs; and order destruction of infringing goods and the materials and implements predominantly used to create them[26].
Customs authorities must be able to detain suspected infringing goods both upon application by rights holders and ex officio, using risk management to identify suspect consignments[27]. Criminal procedures and deterrent penalties apply at least to wilful trade mark counterfeiting and commercial-scale copyright piracy, whether or not carried out for financial gain, extending to counterfeit labels and packaging and to asset forfeiture[28].
The digital enforcement framework is among the most significant elements of the chapter. It requires remedies against infringement over digital networks, including e-commerce platforms and social media; safe-harbour frameworks limiting the liability of online service providers, subject to appropriate conditions; judicial authority to issue blocking orders against intermediaries; and encouragement for domain registries to suspend infringing domains[29]. For brand owners facing online counterfeiting, this creates a comprehensive toolkit combining court orders, intermediary obligations and domain-level action.
A Living IP Framework
The CETA does not treat IP regulation as a fixed arrangement. Chapter 13 creates mechanisms for continued cooperation through designated contact points, the permanent IP Working Group, cooperation on SMEs, artificial intelligence and clean technology, patent office collaboration under the WIPO CASE system, and enforcement coordination[30]. Several important issues remain open for future engagement, including GI list expansion, non-agricultural GI protection in the UK and possible copyright term extension in India. These review mechanisms ensure that the chapter can evolve with changing technology, markets and policy priorities.
Beyond IP: Other Economic Highlights
The CETA also contains several major commercial commitments. The services and mobility package provides UK commitments across 137 services sub-sectors and introduces structured mobility pathways, including a first-of-its-kind annual quota of 1,800 opportunities for Indian chefs, yoga instructors and classical musicians[31]. The Double Contribution Convention extends the exemption from dual social security contributions from three to five years, benefiting more than 75,000 professionals and over 900 companies[32].
Sensitive Indian agricultural sectors, including dairy, cereals, millets, edible oils, oilseeds and apples, remain protected through exclusion lists[33]. For steel exporters, 85% of India’s exports fall outside the UK steel measures effective from 1 July 2026, while remaining lines are protected through country-specific quotas, residual quota and the Authorised Use Scheme[34].
Conclusion
The India–UK CETA demonstrates that modern trade agreements are shaped not only by tariff liberalisation, but by the legal frameworks that support innovation, investment and cross-border commerce. Chapter 13 reflects this evolution by combining stronger intellectual property protection with safeguards for public health, regulatory autonomy and public interest. Through its provisions on trade marks, patents, copyright, trade secrets, digital enforcement and institutional cooperation, the Chapter creates greater certainty for businesses while preserving the balance between rights protection and policy flexibility.
The true impact of the CETA will depend on effective implementation and commercial adoption. Indian businesses entering the UK market will need to strengthen their intellectual property strategies, while UK rights holders will gain enhanced enforcement tools and a structured platform for engagement in India. With review mechanisms addressing geographical indications, copyright, emerging technologies and future regulatory developments, the Agreement is designed as a living framework. As bilateral trade moves towards the USD 100 billion target by 2030 and India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, one conclusion is clear: Intellectual property is not just a technical component of the agreement; it is one of the foundations supporting the future of India–UK economic relations.
[1] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2
[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2127321®=48&lang=2
[3] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2
[4] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Sections A–I.
[5] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.15.
[6] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.3 and 13.5.
[7] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.6.
[8] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.7–13.9.
[9] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.24–13.33.
[10] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.34–13.40.
[11] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.41.
[12] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.17 and 13.40(3), read with Annex 13C.
[13] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.41(4) and 13.45.
[14] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.47 and 13.50.
[15] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.49.
[16] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.55.
[17] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.56.
[18] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.21 and 13.54(2).
[19] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.57, 13.58 and 13.60.
[20] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.69.
[21] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.69(9)–(11).
[22] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.67.
[23] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.71 and 13.72.
[24] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Article 13.73.
[25] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.84 and 13.86.
[26] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.74–13.86.
[27] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.87–13.95.
[28] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.96–13.101.
[29] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.102–13.105.
[30] India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 13, Articles 13.13–13.16.
[31] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2
[32] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2
[33] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2
[34] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2274280®=48&lang=2