UK, USA And Germany Lead The Way In Intellectual Property

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12 May 2008

The Global Intellectual Property Index (GIPI), launched in early May by European law firm Taylor Wessing ranks 22 of the world's leading jurisdictions for intellectual property (IP). GIPI, created by Z/Yen Group, presents a statistical comparison of how jurisdictions are viewed in terms of ‘IP competitiveness’.  Jurisdictions are rated as places in which to obtain, exploit, enforce & attack the three main types of IP: trademarks, patents and copyright.
The results of the GIPI can be considered in terms of five ‘tiers’ of IP competitiveness:

The key findings of the Taylor Wessing GIPI are:

• costs do not seem to be a major factor in the rankings – jurisdictions where costs of obtaining and enforcing IP are high are generally towards the top of the GIPI rankings;

• the tier 1 jurisdictions - UK, USA and Germany perform strongly in all three areas of IP.  The UK heads up both the trademark and patents index and is second in the copyright index.  The USA leads the copyright index but is down in 6th place for trademarks.  Germany is in the top three in all three indices.  The UK, Germany & the Netherlands are the only jurisdictions to appear in the top 5 in all indices;

• there is a wide variance in the ratings of European jurisdictions, despite the intended harmonisation of laws within the EU.  The UK and Germany are tier 1 jurisdictions whereas Poland and Italy are in tier 4;

• seven of the nine jurisdictions in tiers 1 and 2 of the GIPI have legal systems based on common law;

• the BRIC jurisdictions (Brazil, Russia, India, China) of developing countries form tier 5 of the GIPI.  They are at the bottom of the list in all four indices, and by a significant margin.  China is bottom of each index although several questionnaire respondents noted that China has made significant strides in recent years at improving its IP protection systems.  At present the perception of the effectiveness of those systems appears to be lagging and it remains to be seen whether China’s position improves going forward.  Brazil, Russia and India are still seen as poor jurisdictions in which to manage all forms of IP;

• the highest Asian jurisdiction is Singapore in tier 2.  Japan is the second Asian jurisdiction but is 50 points behind Singapore.  China is in tier 5 and is more than 300 points away from the tier 1 jurisdictions;

• the size of a jurisdiction (measured by GDP) seems to have little effect on the ability to manage IP.  Both large and small jurisdictions can get IP management right if they are places where the rule of law is highly regarded;

• IP competitiveness is not a ‘zero-sum’ game where one jurisdiction’s gain is another’s loss.  Jurisdictions that manage IP well are seen as mutually supportive and encourage better IP management globally.

Michael Frawley, Managing Partner at Taylor Wessing LLP, commented:

"We live and work in a global market and IP is a global issue.  For companies operating in this market, safeguarding IP in today’s developing economies is just as important as securing protection in the developed ones.  IP law is developing rapidly in order to meet the challenges of the ever increasing change in technology and no jurisdiction can afford to be complacent about how its legal system accommodates these changes.”

"There is much anecdotal comment about how well IP is protected in different jurisdictions and what needs to be done about it.  The Global IP Index provides real data based on a combination of objective factors and the knowledge and experience of people operating in the field.  We hope that the Index will make a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate in this vitally important area."

Professor Michael Mainelli, Chairman of Z/Yen Group and creator of the GIPI, said:

“Intellectual property is created by states in order to improve economic performance.  We hope that this new index starts to provide answers over time to questions such as whether strong IP improves performance, what companies value in IP protection and whether IP regimes benefit consumers and citizens.”

To participate in the GIPI by rating the jurisdictions you are familiar with,
please click here.

Note to Editors

The Global Intellectual Property Index will be updated regularly to identify changes in people's perceptions and in other measures of competitiveness.  To see a detailed breakdown of the IP Index including rankings for each of the 22 jurisdictions in regard to specific Trade Mark, Patent and Copyright Indices, country analysis and commentary on the findings, rationale and implications, please click here.  We have attached a brief summary of the rankings below.  For further information about the GIPI please contact either Mark Yeandle (mark_yeandle@zyen.com) or Michael Mainelli (michael_mainelli@zyen.com) on +44 20 7562-9562.
 

The Trademark, Patents and Copyright Indices

 

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Last modified: 15 July 2008