From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Prospects of the Global IP Index
Mains level: Intellectual property rights and their protection in India
India has been ranked 40th out of 53 countries on a global intellectual property index, even as the country has shown improvement in terms of scores when it comes to the protection of IP and copyright issues.
GIP Index
- The Global IP Index was released by Global Innovation Policy Center or GIPC of the US Chambers of Commerce.
- The GIPC Index consists of five key sets of indicators to map the national intellectual property environment for the surveyed countries.
- The major indicator categories are:
- patents, related rights, and limitations;
- copyrights, related rights, and limitations;
- trademarks, related rights, and limitations;
- enforcement;
- membership and ratification of international treaties.
India’s performance
- India was placed at 36th position among 50 countries in 2019.
- India’s score, however, increased from 36.04 per cent (16.22 out of 45) in 2019 to 38.46 per cent (19.23 out of 50) in 2020, a 2.42 per cent jump in absolute score.
- However, India’s relative score increased by 6.71 per cent.
- India also continues to score well in the Systemic Efficiency indicator, scoring ahead of 28 other economies in these indicators.
Challenges for India
- GIPC has identified several challenges for India. Prominent among them are:
Patentability requirements, patent enforcement, compulsory licensing, patent opposition, regulatory data protection, transparency in reporting seizures by customs, and Singapore Treaty of Law of TMs and Patent Law Treaty
Measures to protect IPs in India
- Since the release of the 2016 National IPR Policy, the government of India has made a focused effort to support investments in innovation and creativity through increasingly robust IP protection and enforcement.
- Since 2016, India has improved the speed of processing for patent and trademark applications, increased awareness of IP rights among Indian innovators and creators, and facilitated the registration and enforcement of those rights.
- To continue this upward trajectory, much work remains to be done to introduce transformative changes to India’s overall IP framework and take serious steps to consistently implement strong IP standards.
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