‘Competition laws, IPR encourage innovation, contribute to human progress’: Ex-RBI Guv D Subbarao

D Subbarao said that competition keeps businesses on the edge and to keep improving..

Competition laws and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) both encourage innovation and contribute to human progress, former RBI Governor D Subbarao said on Saturday.

Subbarao, who was speaking at a virtual event where a book on IPR and competition law was released, said competition keeps businesses on the edge and to keep improving. Businesses keep innovating to improve products as they seek to grow. “But at the same time, we also need IPR in order to encourage innovation. Why? Because innovation takes a lot of money,” he said.

He also said despite a ‘tension’ between them, competition law and IPR target a common objective which is to encourage acquisition and spread of knowledge. Harmonising the tension between competition laws and IPR in the context of digital technologies is a much more complex public policy challenge, the former RBI governor added.