Foreign Direct Investment in India

 The rapid rise in foreign direct investment in India in the last few years has increased the need for obtaining licenses. The Indian Government has increased the FDI in many sectors to have a record inflow of over 80,000 million dollars in 2020-2021. As a result, it has made the foreign licensor get approval from the Government for chemical, defense, and other sectors. There are different forms of licensing in India, from brand licensing to service licenses essential for foreign companies to sell their products and service.

So, please continue reading to know the various licenses in India and the laws that govern them for bringing in more FDI or foreign direct investment in India.

 


Why licensing in India?

With many foreign companies coming into India to tap the huge customer base in India, they can get the license to sell their products and services. License is an agreement by which the licensee leases its rights of intellectual property protected legally to the licensor. Licensing in India is leasing copyrighted or trademarked property to use in conjunction with a service or product. The property includes name, logo, likeness, signature, saying, character, graphic, or a combination of these elements.

 

What is the different licensing in India?

For businesses to sell products or services within the Indian jurisdiction, they have to obtain different licenses depending on the nature of the business and the extent of those licenses. A few notable licensing in India include.

  • ·       Software license agreements like master agreements, end-user license agreements, etc
  • ·       Copyright & trademark license agreements
  • ·       Patent & research collaboration license agreements
  • ·       Brand and services license
  • ·       Corporate brand and trademark licensing like Tata and Starbucks
  • ·       Cross-licensing agreements when owners of intellectual property like Apple license rights to others

 

How is licensing in India?

The licensing in India started during the British rule of India with many laws enacted  Indian Contract Act in 1872 punishable under the IPC or Indian Penal Code 1860. Hence any misrepresentations by the licensee in transferring the clear title to the licensor violate the 1872 Act and are punishable under IPC 1860. With foreign companies starting a business in India have to register the grant of international licensing rights for patents with the Indian Government governed by Section 69 of the Patent Act 1970. The Trade Marks Act 1999 will enable the licensor to apply with the Registrar of Trademarks to make the licensee the registered user.

As per a report, the estimate for retail licensing in India is 1.26 billion dollars. However, it is only increasing in the last few years to have the best law firms for obtaining licenses in India. 

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