India Shines as Global IP Leader; Fastest Growth in Intellectual Property Filings: WIPO 2024 Report

The report also emphasizes the resilience of innovation and IP activity in the face of global economic challenges.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released its World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) 2024, revealing significant global trends in intellectual property (IP) filings. Notably, India has cemented its place among the global top 10 nations in all three major categories of intellectual property rights: patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. India’s rise in the IP landscape underscores its growing emphasis on innovation, creativity, and industrial development, marking new milestones in IP activity across key sectors.

India recorded the fastest growth in patent filings among the top 20 economies in 2023, with a remarkable 15.7% increase. This marks the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in patent applications. India now ranks sixth globally in patents, with a total of 64,480 applications. Of these, 55.2% were filed by residents—representing a first for the country—demonstrating an increasing focus on home-grown innovation. Notably, the Indian Patent Office granted 149.4% more patents in 2023 compared to the previous year, highlighting the rapid expansion of the country’s IP ecosystem and its commitment to protecting innovations.

India also saw impressive growth in industrial design filings, which surged by 36.4% in 2023. This reflects a broader focus on product design and creativity in key industries such as textiles, health, cosmetics, and manufacturing. The top sectors contributing to industrial design applications included Textiles and Accessories, Tools and Machines, and Health and Cosmetics, which together accounted for nearly half of all design filings.

In terms of trademark activity, India ranked fourth globally, with a 6.1% increase in trademark filings in 2023. Nearly 90% of these filings were by residents, indicating robust domestic demand for brand protection. The top sectors driving trademark filings were Health (21.9%), Agriculture (15.3%), and Clothing (12.8%). India’s trademark office now holds the second-largest number of active registrations worldwide, surpassing 3.2 million trademarks, reinforcing the country’s strong position in global brand protection.

Between 2018 and 2023, patent and industrial design applications more than doubled, and trademark filings increased by 60%, demonstrating India’s growing focus on intellectual property and innovation as key drivers of economic growth. The patent-to-GDP ratio also saw significant improvement, rising from 144 to 381 over the past decade. This increase signifies that India’s IP activity is scaling in tandem with its expanding economy.

WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024 highlights the ongoing growth of global IP filings, with a record 3.55 million patent applications filed worldwide in 2023, up 2.7% from the previous year. This growth was largely driven by resident filings from leading economies in Asia, including China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and India. The increasing share of resident filings across these countries reflects a shift towards local innovation, as nations strive to enhance their domestic IP ecosystems.

The report also emphasizes the resilience of innovation and IP activity in the face of global economic challenges. India’s continued advancement in patent, trademark, and industrial design filings is a testament to the effectiveness of government initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of innovation and establishing India as a global leader in intellectual property. The steady increase in resident filings showcases the impact of these efforts, positioning India as a major force in the global IP and innovation landscape.