India jumps 8 places to 36th on International IP Index

NEW DELHI: Recognition of international standards of copyright protection and incentives for intellectual property have helped India jump eight places to 36th position on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index, the highest gain for any country this year.

The index, which analyses the IP climate in 50 global economies, is brought out by the US Chamber of Commerce's Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). “The improvement reflects important reforms implemented by Indian policymakers towards building and sustaining an innovation ecosystem for domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike,” it said in a statement. The index ranks countries based on 45 indicators.

India's overall score has also increased substantially from 30.07% (12.03 out of 40) in the previous edition to 36.04% (16.22 out of 45) in the present edition.

“For the second year in a row, India's score represents the largest gain of any country measured on the Index, which covers over 90 % of global gross domestic product,” said Patrick Kilbride, senior vice president of GIPC.

Among the weaknesses, the index has cited barriers to licensing and technology transfer, including strict registration norms, limited framework for the protection of biopharmaceutical IP rights, patentability ruless outside international standards, lengthy pre-grant opposition proceedings and previously used compulsory licensing for commercial and non-emergency situations as key hurdles.