India’s position unchanged at 42 on International IP Index 2024

India’s position remained unchanged at 42 at the International IP Index 2024 compared to 2023, with no change even on the index score which stood at 38.64% since 2022, the US Chamber of Commerce said in a report released on Wednesday. The index ranks 55 countries on their intellectual property (IP) regime.

The top countries on the index were the USA (95.48%), UK (94.12%), France (93.12%), Germany (92.46%), Sweden (92.12%), Japan (91.26%), Netherlands (91.24%), Ireland (89.38%), Spain (86.44%) and Switzerland (85.98%).

Highlighting India’s IP related shortcomings, the report said that the 2021 dissolution of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board combined with the long-standing issue of an under-resourced and overstretched judiciary raises serious concerns about rights holders' ability to enforce their IP rights in India and to resolve IP-related disputes.


“Limited framework for the protection of biopharmaceutical IP rights,” it added.

According to the report, however, some of the IP related strengths for India include the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, which includes new language and criminal sanctions on film piracy, and streamlined Form 27 in 2020.

As per the report, 20 economies improved their overall scores, signaling optimism for global IP policy’s future with Saudi Arabia (+6.04%), Brazil (+4.50%), and Nigeria (+3.00%) emerging as top-gainers showcasing policy-driven innovation investments.

However, score for 27 economies remain unchanged, including India while those of 8 countries declined, with Ecuador dropping over 1% due inadequate border control against IP infringement.

The report pointed out that there has been no significant progress in top-ranked economies, calling for the U.S. and EU to reassert IP policy leadership.

The report further suggested that multilateral organizations can reaffirm global IP commitment instead of tolerating counterproductive measures like IP waivers.

“Despite the pandemic’s end in May 2023, debates on IP waivers for COVID-19 treatments and diagnostics continue, risking future IP Index scores,” it said, adding high-income economies risk losing IP leadership with new policy and regulatory proposals.