The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC), on Wednesday, released its third annual International IP Index, ‘UP: Unlimited Potential’, which found that 20 of the 30 economies examined in the Index improved their scores from last year.
India was ranked second from the bottom in the third edition of GIPC index, while the U.S. was at the top.
The first edition of 2012 mapped and compared national IP environment in 11 economies. The current edition covers 30 economies, representing close to 80 per cent of world’s gross domestic product.
Thailand, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina, Nigeria, Brazil and Ukraine were described as low-tier performers. The index is based on 30 measurable criteria critical to innovation, including, patent, copyright and trademark protections, enforcement, and engagement in international treaties.
Out of the 25 sampled economies, 20 economies showed in a positive direction with 11 economies making substantial progress. India was ranked 11 with a score of 7.23 out of 30 against 6.95 per cent in the last edition.
“Twenty nations improved their score in the 2015 IP index, showing that leaders in both developing and developed economies increasingly recognise the connection between effective intellectual property protection and achieving their greatest economic potential,” said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of GIPC. The report said India’s performance signalled measurable and sustainable progression. While still posing significant challenges to rights holders across the board, India had improved its score and performance.
It also listed out some concerns. According to it, India’s patentability requirements remained outside established international best practices. Also, there is a lack of specific IP rights for the life sciences sector. It finds high levels of physical and online piracy in India.
“India is not a contracting party to any of the international treaties included in the GIPC Index, nor has concluded FTA with substantial IP provisions since acceding to the TRIPS Agreement,” it points out.
