Between 2018 and 2023, India's patents and industrial design filings for Intellectual Property rights doubled, taking the country to the sixth rank, according to the latest World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO) annual report.
For the first time, India has taken the top 10 countries of the world on the back of three major intellectual property rights-patents, industrial design applications, and trademark applications. Patent filing in India showcased its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth rate.
As many as 64,480 patents were filed in India in the year 2023, says the WIPO report. The growth rate of patent filings in the country stood at 15.7 per cent, in comparison to those filled in 2022.
According to the report, more than 35 lakh patents have been filed in the world in the year 2023, and global patent filing has shown a positive growth for the fourth time consecutively.
China leads in the world filing of patents as of 2023 with 1.64 million followed by United States of America with 518,364, Japan with 414,413, South Korea with 287,954, Germany with 133,053 and India with 64,480.
Asia remains the leader with 68.7 per cent, 66.7 per cent, and 69 per cent in patent, trademark, and industrial design filing activities, respectively as of 2023.
Intellectual property rights include the creations of human minds, which do not exist in nature. They include inventions, literary, scientific, artistic, and aesthetic inventions, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce. Intellectual property rights are guarded by law to prevent their illegal use.
Intellectual property rights include Patents, Copyright, Trademarks, Industrial Designs, Geographical Indications, and Trade Secrets.
Patents refer to the exclusive rights granted to an invention by a human being, such as the discovery of medicine, while copyright refers to creators' rights to their literary and artistic works, including songs, music, books, etc.
Trademark
Trademark is a legal term that distinguishes one company's goods or services from those of others. It may be a symbol, design, or name that the company uses in its products.
An industrial design refers to the ornamental or aesthetic element in any mass-produced item.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation is established in 1967 as an agency of the United Nations. Situated in Geneva in Switzerland, the main objective of the organisation is to enhance the protection of intellectual property rights all over the world.
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