On January 27, 2026, the European Union and India officially announced the conclusion of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This landmark trade agreement, covering over 2 billion people worldwide, has finalized several core consensuses in the field of intellectual property (IP). The European Commission and India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry disclosed the IP-related contents of the agreement through official press releases and fact sheets respectively. The two sides have reached a high degree of consensus on the core scope of protection, while presenting different emphases in their expressions based on their respective industrial demands.
Both sides confirmed that the agreement will provide high-level protection and enforcement for copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, trade secrets and plant variety rights on the basis of the TRIPS Agreement and existing international IP treaties, and promote the convergence of IP laws between India and the EU. This arrangement will simplify cross-jurisdictional rule adaptation, remove institutional barriers for bilateral trade and investment activities involving intellectual property, and establish a clear and smoothly implemented IP protection and operation framework, providing a more solid legal guarantee for the cross-border development of related industries.
The EU clarified in the agreement that it will simultaneously advance negotiations on a special Geographical Indications (GIs) agreement with India. By combating counterfeiting and other forms of unfair competition, it will help the EU's traditional iconic agricultural products expand into the Indian market. As an important sub-field of IP, the special protection and cooperation on geographical indications will build a more standardized cross-border protection framework, promote the connection and coordinated implementation of relevant field rules, strengthen the brand protection barrier for the development of characteristic industries on both sides of Europe and India, and create a healthier trading environment for cross-border specialty products. It is worth noting that negotiations on the geographical indications agreement were relaunched simultaneously with those on the FTA, and relevant consultations are still ongoing.
In the FTA fact sheet released by India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a special chapter titled "Innovate, Protect, Prosper: Intellectual Property" was set up to elaborate the core demands of India in the negotiations and the outcomes of the agreement's implementation. At the same time, it affirms the Doha Declaration, seeking a balance between IP protection and public health interests. This makes the rules for cross-border IP protection and rights remedy clearer, and lays a institutional foundation for the compliant development of relevant industries and the stability of prices of people's livelihood products.
India incorporated its core demands into the agreement provisions, explicitly recognizing the importance of digital libraries, and especially attaching importance to the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) initiative initiated by India. This has established an exclusive international protection barrier for India's precious intangible assets such as traditional medicine and distinctive handicrafts. Meanwhile, the two sides also agreed to establish a regular communication mechanism in the field of technology transfer, which promotes the coordination of relevant field rules and resource sharing, builds a smoother bridge for the cross-border development of traditional characteristic industries and technology industries, and facilitates the protection, transformation and implementation of various innovative achievements and traditional crafts.
As a significant outcome of over a decade of negotiations between the EU and India, the IP framework of this FTA not only reflects the global trend toward high-standard protection but also accommodates the core industrial concerns and development needs of both parties.
Sources：
1. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_26_184/IP_26_184_EN.pdf
2. https://www.commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Factsheet-on-India-EU-trade-deal-27.1.2026.pdf
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