Introduction and About

- The World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO) World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) 2024 report has ranked India among the top ten nations for patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.

- This achievement reflects the steadfast growth and resilience in global Intellectual Property (IP) filings, primarily stimulated by China, the US, Japan, South Korea, and India.

 

WIPO and India

- Established in 1967, WIPO is a specialized United Nations agency aiming to promote creative activity and globally protect intellectual property.

- It manages 26 global treaties and operates from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

- WIPO has a membership of 193 nations, with India joining in 1975.

- India is a participant in several significant WIPO-measured international treaties and conventions relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), such as the Budapest Treaty, Paris Convention, Berne Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, among several others.

 

Reports Published by WIPO

- WIPO publishes highly regarded reports such as the Global Innovation Index, World Intellectual Property Indicators and the WIPO Technology Trends report.

 

India's Performance in the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024

- India has shown remarkable progress across several aspects of IP, according to the WIPI 2024 report.

- India registered the fastest growth in patent applications in 2023 among the top 20 origins, making it the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

- The sectors of Textiles and Accessories, Tools and Machines, and Health and Cosmetics constituted nearly half of all design filings.

- India also demonstrated substantial growth in its patent-to-GDP ratio, indicating the growing scale of IP activity alongside economic expansion.

- India is currently ranking fourth worldwide in trademark filings. Nearly 90% of these filings are carried out by domestic entities principally in the health, agriculture and clothing sectors.

- Geographical Indication (GI) is an area where India needs to focus more as its GIs lack protection by international agreements.

 

Intellectual Property, Patents, Trademarks, GIs and Industrial Designs

- IP involves numerous creations of the human intellect: copyrights, patents, and trademarks.

- Patents are exclusive rights bestowed for an invention, whilst trademarks are seen as a distinguishing feature of goods or services.

- Industrial designs relate to the aesthetic elements of a product, whilst a Geographical Indication (GI) denotes a good as originating from a specific geographical area boasting a unique reputation or quality.

 

India's Initiatives to Promote Innovation

- India has enforced a robust legislative framework to drive innovation, which comprises The Copyright Act, 1957, The Designs Act, 2000, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, The Patents Act, 1970, among others.

- India's Government has also initiated several programmes such as Make in India, National Intellectual Property (IP) Awareness Mission (NIPAM), and the Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA).

- India has displayed significant growth in the Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings over the years, ranking 39 out of 133 in GII 2024, improving from 46th position in 2021 and 81st rank in 2015.