U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center: 2017 International IP Index
This report originally appeared in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce GIPC website on February 24, 2017.
Each economy in the Index presents a unique IP profile. As this Index has grown from 11 economies in its first edition to 45 in the current publication, it has become exceedingly clear that just as elections matter, so do IP policy choices. These choices are not simply a matter of East versus West, developed versus less-developed, or rich versus poor. Rather, the Index represents a broad spectrum of sovereign policy choices. Those choices have important consequences for each economy’s innovative and creative success, and for the collective welfare of all the world’s citizens.
In many ways, 2016 was a challenging year for global IP policy. New data revealed that the problem of global counterfeiting has more than doubled since 2008, amounting to $461 billion annually. A strengthened global benchmark for IP standards was delayed by political opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Countries all around the globe—from the most established markets to fledgling new governments—grappled with the question of whether to move forward, innovating and evolving in a new era of globalization