By Vikrant Rana & Huda Jafri
Introduction
The recently concluded India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (India–EU FTA) has been aptly hailed as the “Mother of All Trade Deals”, a phrase that captures the scale, ambition, and strategic importance of the Agreement. Announced jointly by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, and the President of the European Commission, H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, at the 16th India–EU Summit held in New Delhi, the Agreement marks a historic milestone in India’s global trade engagement after nearly two decades of negotiations[1].
The FTA brings together the fourth-largest and second-largest economies in the world, collectively accounting for nearly 25% of global GDP and about one-third of global trade, and creates a preferential trade framework covering a market of close to two billion people[2].
What does the deal have in store for brand owners and why is it a ripe time to protect your brand in EU?
For brand owners and IP-intensive businesses, this represents an unprecedented opportunity to expand market presence and protect intellectual assets in one of the most lucrative markets globally. From a macroeconomic perspective, the Agreement is poised to unlock preferential market access for over 99% of Indian exports by trade value, including labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, engineering goods, and automobiles[3]. This surge in trade flows will likely increase the exposure of Indian brands in the EU, making proactive IP registration and enforcement critical to prevent infringement and protect market share.
Beyond its sheer economic scale, the defining strength of the India–EU FTA lies in its comprehensive and future-oriented legal architecture. The Agreement extends well beyond tariff liberalisation to cover services, mobility of professionals, customs and trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, sustainability and climate-related commitments, MSME facilitation, and critically, a robust and balanced intellectual property rights (IPR) framework[4]. For brand owners, the strengthened IP provisions provide a reliable framework to safeguard trademarks, copyrights, designs, and trade secrets while pursuing growth in the EU market. It is within this broader strategic and legal context that the FTA must be understood as a long-term economic partnership rather than a conventional trade deal.[5]
Intellectual Property as a Core Legal Pillar of the Agreement
Reinforcing Balanced, TRIPS-Consistent IP Protection
A central pillar of the India–EU FTA is its intellectual property framework, which reinforces protections consistent with the TRIPS Agreement while preserving policy space for domestic regulatory priorities. Official government releases clarify that the Agreement strengthens intellectual property protections relating to copyright, trademarks, industrial designs, trade secrets, plant varieties, and enforcement of IPRs, while remaining aligned with India’s broader development objectives[6]. For brand owners, this creates a secure environment for registering and commercializing IP in the EU, providing predictability for long-term market investment and brand expansion.
This balanced approach enhances legal certainty and predictability for innovators, creators, and businesses operating across jurisdictions. It is particularly significant for cross-border licensing, brand expansion, technology transfer, and commercialisation of intangible assets in a rules-based environment.
Affirmation of the Doha Declaration and Public Interest Safeguards
The India–EU FTA expressly reaffirms the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, underscoring the continued relevance of public interest safeguards within the IP regime[7]. This reaffirmation is critical in ensuring that enhanced IP protection does not undermine access to medicines, public health objectives, or other developmental imperatives. This demonstrates that brand owners can expect strong protection without compromising essential public-interest safeguards, balancing commercial and social objectives.
By embedding this principle within the Agreement, India preserves its ability to deploy TRIPS-consistent flexibilities such as compulsory licensing and exceptions where legitimately required, while still committing to strong IP protection standards.
Recognition of Traditional Knowledge and the TKDL
One of the most distinctive IP-related features of the Agreement is the recognition of the importance of digital libraries, specifically India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)[8]. This recognition strengthens defensive protection mechanisms against biopiracy and misappropriation of indigenous medicinal knowledge and traditional practices. For brand owners, especially in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and herbal products, this provides additional tools to defend IP and enforce rights in the EU against misappropriation or patent challenges.
From a legal standpoint, this has significant implications for patent examination, opposition, and revocation proceedings, and reinforces India’s long-standing international advocacy for integrating traditional knowledge protection into the global IP framework.
Strengthening IP Enforcement and Regulatory Cooperation
Beyond substantive rights, the FTA places emphasis on robust enforcement of intellectual property rights, including procedural safeguards, legal remedies, and institutional cooperation[9]. The Agreement situates IP enforcement within a broader framework of customs cooperation, regulatory transparency, and trade facilitation, enhancing the ability of rights holders to protect their assets against infringement and counterfeiting in cross-border trade. Brand owners must prioritise proactive IP registration in the EU and leverage these enforcement mechanisms to safeguard trademarks, copyrights, and designs as trade volumes increase.
This is particularly relevant in the context of trademarks, copyrights, and technology-driven collaborations, where effective enforcement mechanisms are essential to maintaining commercial confidence.
Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Emerging Technologies
The India–EU FTA recognises that future economic growth will be innovation-driven and supported by strong legal frameworks for IP protection. Official releases highlight cooperation in critical and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, clean technologies, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and digitally delivered services, all of which rely heavily on predictable and enforceable IP regimes[10].
By aligning trade liberalisation with innovation policy, the Agreement positions India as a global hub for talent, technology, and services, while providing EU enterprises with assurance that proprietary technologies and confidential information will be protected in the Indian market.
Why the India–EU FTA Is Truly the “Mother of All Deals”
The description of the India–EU FTA as the “mother of all deals” is not rhetorical; it is grounded in four defining characteristics articulated in official government communications.
First, unprecedented market integration. The Agreement integrates two large, diverse, and complementary economies, India as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies and the EU as a mature, high-technology and innovation-driven bloc, together accounting for one-quarter of global GDP and a significant share of global trade[11]. For brand owners, this integration means direct access to a market where IP enforcement is sophisticated and robust, presenting both opportunities and responsibilities in protecting intellectual property.
Second, exceptional depth of market access. India has secured preferential access for exports worth approximately INR 6.4 lakh crore (USD 75 billion), with tariffs on nearly 33 billion USD of labour-intensive exports reduced to zero upon entry into force of the Agreement. Simultaneously, the EU obtains calibrated and reciprocal access to the Indian market across goods and services, carefully aligned with India’s domestic industrial and development priorities. This volume and diversity of trade will increase the commercial footprint of Indian brands in the EU, highlighting the need for comprehensive IP strategies, including trademark registration, design protection, and patent coverage for technology-driven products.
Third, structural and regulatory breadth. The FTA goes far beyond trade in goods to encompass services, investment-related disciplines, customs and trade facilitation, regulatory transparency, digital trade, SMEs, sustainability and climate engagement (including CBAM-related provisions), and intellectual property rights. For IP-intensive sectors, this breadth offers predictability and enforceable rights in the EU market, ensuring that growth does not come at the cost of brand dilution or infringement.
Fourth, a strategic and future-ready orientation. The Agreement embeds review mechanisms, consultation frameworks, and cooperation platforms designed to respond to evolving technologies, regulatory challenges, and global trade dynamics, thereby functioning as a living agreement rather than a static trade instrument[12]. Brand owners can leverage these mechanisms to anticipate regulatory changes affecting IP, collaborate on enforcement, and strengthen brand presence in the EU proactively.
Together, these features justify the characterisation of the India–EU FTA as a transformational economic and legal compact.
Complementary Legal and Economic Highlights
While intellectual property occupies a central role, the FTA also delivers several legally significant outcomes:
- Labour-intensive sector growth: Zero-duty access for exports in textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems and jewellery, and handicrafts enhances competitiveness and employment generation.
- Services and mobility frameworks: The Agreement introduces a future-ready mobility framework facilitating movement of professionals, intra-corporate transferees, contractual service suppliers, and independent professionals.
- Customs and regulatory cooperation: Measures aimed at reducing non-tariff barriers, streamlining customs procedures, and enhancing regulatory transparency improve ease of doing business.
- MSME empowerment: Dedicated provisions facilitate access to information, market opportunities, and regulatory clarity for MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, artisans, and youth[13].
Conclusion
The India–EU Free Trade Agreement is rightly described as the “Mother of All Deals” because it reshapes not only trade flows but the legal and institutional architecture governing innovation, investment, and economic cooperation between two of the world’s most influential economic blocs.
From an intellectual property perspective, the Agreement strikes a carefully calibrated balance, strengthening TRIPS-consistent protections, reaffirming public interest flexibilities, recognising traditional knowledge systems, and reinforcing enforcement and cooperation mechanisms. For brand owners, this underscores the urgent need to proactively register IP in the EU, leverage the enhanced enforcement frameworks, and align brand expansion strategies with the growth in trade and innovation-driven sectors. As India advances towards its vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and the EU deepens its strategic engagement with India, the FTA stands as a template for modern, inclusive, and future-oriented trade agreements, with intellectual property firmly at its core. positioning intellectual property at the heart of market expansion, brand protection, and global competitiveness.
[1] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[3] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[4] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[6] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[7] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[8] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[9] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[10] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[11] ttps://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[12] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065
[13] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2219065