IP Zoom-In: Highlighting the Regional Challenges to Innovation

Ryan Denson
Manager, International IP for the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Published

March 17, 2025

What we said: The U.S. Chamber’s 2025 Special 301 submission underscores the urgent need for the Trump Administration to address significant gaps in intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement across various regions, as they are strategic in maintaining our economic advantage globally. This year’s submission highlights 14 economies across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, emphasizing the negative impact that weak IP protections have on American innovation, creativity, and global market access.

What we find:

Africa: South Africa's IP landscape, including patent standards, copyright protection, and general market access, is highly problematic and unpredictable.
Asia: While the Chamber acknowledges positive strides in Indonesia with updates to its patent law, concerns remain on provisions that allow the government to use patented products for import and compulsory licensing. In Japan and Korea, government price caps and controls limits biopharmaceutical companies’ ability to receive a fair value for their innovation, hindering access to treatments. In India, the Chamber notes cautious optimism following the government's decision to withdraw a memorandum aimed at broadening Section 31D on statutory licenses but stresses the need for continued reforms to ensure robust protection for American creative content, which remains vulnerable under India’s current legal framework.
Latin America: The Chamber raises alarm over Colombia's issuance of a compulsory license, setting a concerning global precedent that IP rights can be treated as discretionary. In Argentina and Brazil, patentability and patent pendency issues are front and center, as well as the serious gaps in copyright enforcement, particularly related to online piracy and physical counterfeiting. With Mexico, compliance with USMCA obligations is top-of-mind for industry stakeholders.
Europe: In Europe, the Chamber voices concern over proposed revisions to the General Pharmaceutical Legislation and associated patent package. These changes threaten to destabilize the ecosystem for U.S. biopharma investment, creating uncertainty for American innovators operating in European markets. The Chamber warns that such revisions could jeopardize legal certainty, a critical factor for innovation and investment in R&D sectors.

Why it matters: The Chamber aims to safeguard American innovation and creativity and ensure that U.S. companies can continue to thrive in an increasingly competitive and unpredictable global landscape. In addition to this process, the U.S. Chamber also highlights a lot of these issues – as well as areas of opportunity – in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on unfair trade practices.