IELTS takeover by Oz firm sparks monopoly fears

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, July 4

Two days after the International Development Programme (IDP), a leading Australian firm, announced acquisition of British Council’s (BC) IELTS business for £130 million in India, the Indian trade mark owner of IELTS, Jagdeep Singh Gill, has written to the University of Cambridge, UK, and Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, Government of India, and objected to the decision.

IELTS aspirants fear the monopoly of IDP over India which could bring a hike in the fee of the test. “In India, IELTS is my intellectual property which is registered with the Designs & Trade Marks, Government of India, and valid till September 8, 2029. How can BC decide to sell IELTS business to IDP in India without my consent?” said Gill.

“Since the university is the testing authority of IELTS and both IDP and BC are conducting test on its behalf, I have written to it. I have got information that IDP will take over from BC in the coming days, but it is not as per law. If the authorities fail to deliver justice, I will move the international court,” he said.