India is among the top ten countries globally for all three major intellectual property (IP) rights – patents, trademarks, and industrial designs, as per the World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) 2024.

“India recorded the fastest growth in patent (15.7 per cent) applications in 2023 among the top 20 origins, marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth. India ranks sixth globally for patents with 64,480 applications, with resident filings accounting for over half of all submissions — a first for the country,” according to a statement released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday.

The patent office also granted 149.4 per cent more patents in 2023 compared to the previous year, underlining the country’s fast-evolving IP ecosystem, it said.

IP growth

“Between 2018 and 2023, patent and industrial design applications more than doubled, while trademark filings increased by 60 per cent, reflecting the country’s growing emphasis on IP and innovation. India’s patent-to-GDP ratio also saw significant growth, rising from 144 to 381 in the past decade, indicating that IP activity is scaling alongside economic expansion,” the statement noted.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) published the WIPI 2024 earlier this month underscoring global trends in IP filings. The report reveals significant growth in patent, trademark, and industrial design applications across top economies.

There has also been a steady rise of 36.4 per cent in India’s industrial design applications, which aligns with increasing emphasis on product design, manufacturing, and creative industries within India, the release said. The top three sectors — textiles and accessories, tools and machines, and health and cosmetics — made up almost half of all design filings,

Trademark filings

India ranked fourth globally in trademark filings, with a 6.1 per cent increase in 2023. Nearly 90 per cent of these filings were by residents, with key sectors including health, agriculture and clothing. India’s trademark office holds the second-largest number of active registrations worldwide, with over 3.2 million trademarks in force, the release added.

“India continues to solidify its place as a global leader in the IP landscape by showing substantial progress and marking new milestones in IP activity,” it said.