We expect India to improve rank in intellectual property index: Kilbride

Our expectation is that India will improve its rank, both in absolute terms and in relation to other countries, says Patrick Kilbride

India has fared poorly in the US Chamber of Commerce’s International Intellectual Property Index over the past five years. This year could be different, says Patrick Kilbride, vice-president, international, Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). On a recent visit, he shares with Sudipto Dey what makes him optimistic on India’s performance in the latest edition of the index, slated for release first week of February. Edited excerpts:

GIPC recently went through a re-branding exercise. What is the idea behind the changes?

Instead of Global Intellectual Property Center, it is now Global Innovation Policy Center. The focus is more on outcomes than means. We talk to governments about how they achieve innovation outcomes; what governments are doing to help domestic innovators to succeed. 

In the process of re-branding, we realised there is a broader space in the knowledge economy. Patents and trademark are only the tip of the iceberg. There is a broad class of intangible assets that is facilitating innovation and becoming increasingly important. These need to be accounted for, they need to be valued, protected and promoted. We are trying to help governments define what the new economy requires in terms of public policy.

Is this change also reflected in the annual international IP Index?

That might be so in the future. Right now, the index is more focused on IP. This year, we have expanded the matrix. We added a seventh category on systemic efficiency. This includes government effort to raise IP awareness among domestic entrepreneurs, streamlining of registration rates and measures put in place to use IP as an economic asset. In all these indicators, we expect India to do relatively well. Our expectation is that India will improve its rank, both in absolute terms and in relation to other countries. 

Do you see a perceptible change in India’s IP regime over the past year or so?

On the positive side, we are very impressed with the effort to implement the National IP Policy. There has been a lot of effort to raise IP awareness, appointment of new examiners, etc. These are positive steps that will help build a domestic constituency for IP-led innovation.

On the negative side, we continue to see Indian representatives in multilateral space pushing the rhetoric that criticises IP as a barrier to access. There is a bit of disconnect between what India is doing in its home and the message it is giving out through multilateral agencies. We hope what India is doing in the domestic market will mark the beginning of bigger domestic investments in IP-led innovation and creativity. 

Do you think India will be able to break the jinx of featuring in the bottom 10 per cent of the Index over the past five editions?

I don’t have the final results but I will not be surprised if India improves its score. We have also grown the Index – it started with 11 countries and 25 indicators. This year, in its sixth edition, we have 50 countries and 40 indicators. The Index has become more sophisticated, with bigger sample size. In fact, India’s performance will be in line with the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rank. 

Any implementation concerns around the National IP Policy?

There is a degree of uncertainty fostered by government rhetoric, political rhetoric. There is still some legacy of defensiveness to international IP rights. Price controls are something the US industry is concerned about.

Are you planning any fresh effort to re-engage with the Indian government and the industry?

GIPC has been running for several years a USIP cooperation dialogue with China. In this, a group of senior US and Chinese policy experts have an informal discussion on the future of IP and innovation policy. This helps to arrive at some common understanding on how IP could help promote innovation in a domestic economy. We think the same model could be replicated for India. When the private sector sits in a dialogue table, along with the government, the conversations could be more result-driven.