Global Index launched today

This morning the IPKat woke up to discover the launch of the Taylor Wessing Global Intellectual Property Index, prepared in association with Managing Intellectual Property magazine. The launch party is in the form of a delicious breakfast seminar, leaving participants with the rest of the day to digest the Index's findings.


In short, this Index presents a comprehensive statistical comparison of IP protection and enforcement in 22 of the world's leading economies, rating each jurisdiction in terms of how well it protects and enforces patents, trade marks and copyright. According to the law firm's website,

"Based on an innovative analysis of surveys of senior industry figures globally and an array of published empirical data, the index provides an assessment of the best and worst jurisdictions to obtain, exploit, enforce and attack particular types of IP. Where once anecdotes, conjecture and even some prejudice may have informed our view of a particular jurisdiction, we are now able to rely on statistical analysis".

There aren't too many surprises in the rankings. The 22 countries are divided between five tiers. The three "best buys" are the UK, USA and Germany - which is good news for Anglo-German law firms like Taylor Wessing. The bottom tier consists of India, Brazil, Russia and China -- which must account for getting on for half of the world's population. Perhaps more surprisingly two EU countries -- Poland and Italy -- are in the one-from-bottom tier, while the "middle order" features Japan, Spain and South Africa.

The IPKat congratulates TW and MIP on this endeavour, which he hopes will be repeated on an annual basis. That way, we can get to compare the continuing response of these important jurisdictions to the demands of IP owners, their competitors, consumers and the marketplace.

You can download the full report here. It's 36 pages long and very handsome, with lots of tables.