US Industry IP Index Rates Nations

The United States Chamber of Commerce has released an index rating countries on their use and treatment of intellectual property and innovation, finding the United States to be top in the world. The report scores the largest emerging economies relatively low, including China, despite that country’s dominance in rates of IP filings in recent years, far outstripping the United States.

The US Chamber Global IP Center International IP Index is available here.

The report highlighted “positive progress” in countries over the past year, such as extensions of copyright terms (e.g., Canada to life plus 70 years), or improvements enabling patent protection.

A reason for emerging economies’ low score is partly explained in the report:

“Broadly, a number of economies, including Brazil, Russia, China, India, and Indonesia, introduced or maintained policies tying market access to sharing of IP and technology. Such forced-localization policies tend to undermine the overall innovation ecosystem and deter investment from foreign IP-intensive entities.”

The report also singled out a number of least developed countries for what it saw as deleterious practices. Venezuela came in lowest of the 38 countries studied.

In addition, the report had criticism for some developed countries’ handling of copyrighted material, stating:

“Copyright protection remains a particular challenge for many high-income economies in Europe, including Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and Sweden, particularly due to the absence of policies to more effectively combat online piracy.”

It also had criticism for the United States’ enforcement efforts, citing relatively weak seizures of counterfeit goods, and its protection against trade secret theft.

The top 10 countries in the report were: US, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

The index is based on “30 measurable criteria critical to innovation including, patent, copyright and trademark protections, enforcement, and engagement in international treaties, among others,” the GIPC said in a release.