On February 7, 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) released the Inspiring Tomorrow International Intellectual Property Index, which assesses the mental property (IP) environment in 50 global economies.
The report, covering all types of mental property, highlights changes in almost half of the economies covered by the Index over the past 12 months.
The index assesses the IP infrastructure in each economy based on 45 unique indicators which are critical to the event of effective IP systems.
The indicators cover 8 categories of mental property protection: patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, commercialization of mental property assets, enforcement, systemic effectiveness, and membership in and ratification of international treaties.
Over the past 12 months, mental property has taken center stage in international discussions on the important thing trade issue. The ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States has brought much-needed attention to the long-standing challenges which have held back global investment in mental property-intensive industries.
Additionally, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has laid the inspiration for twenty first century mental property protection in free trade agreements. The agreement contained quite a few favorable provisions, including 10 years of regulatory data protection for biologics, criminal penalties for theft of trade secrets, and ex officio border enforcement for the shipment of counterfeit goods.
The United States, the United Kingdom, several European economies, Japan and Singapore remain at the highest of the worldwide mental property rankings, with the United States seeing a slight increase in its lead.
The 2019 Index also shows progress in developing countries. While there continues to be much work to be done, India rose in the worldwide IP rankings for the second 12 months in a row, jumping eight places from forty fourth to thirty sixth.
In Latin America, Mexico and Argentina saw significant increases in overall performance attributable to positive mental property reforms, indicating a growing deal with global competitiveness within the region.
As for Southeast Asian countries, here is the total rating and their results:
