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Intellectual Property (IP) rights, particularly patents, are fuelling innovation in the Indian economy, with a significant surge in patents filed in India led by the deeptech sector, according to a recent study.

According to industry body NASSCOM’s seventh edition of its annual ‘Patenting Trends in India’ report, 83,000 patents were filed in India in FY23, marking the highest year-on-year increase of 24.6% in the last two decades.

The share of patents filed by women in India grew to 11.6% in FY23 compared with 10.2% a year ago.

With a share of 9.3% of total patent filings during FY23, Tamil Nadu surpassed Maharashtra (contributing 6.8%) to take the top rank.

Some key drivers behind Tamil Nadu’s top position identified by the report included subsidies by the government for IP registrations for startups and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), facilitation centres, a strong research and development ecosystem, literacy and an increased number of PhD scholars.

The study, which highlighted approaches to fostering an IP-led digital economy, sourced insights from annual reports of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) and Intellectual Property India, among others.

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According to the report, there was a significant surge in the number of patents granted, rising over 2X between FY19 and FY23.

NASSCOM anticipated the trend to increase significantly on account of over 1,00,000 patents granted between March 2023 and March 2024. Over the past decade, the proportion of patents filed by residents (primary filers based in India) has almost doubled, climbing from 33.6% of total filings in fiscal year 2019 to more than 50% in FY23.

“This significant increase reflects a growing focus and heightened awareness of intellectual property rights in the country. Educational institutes have been a key driver to this growth,” NASSCOM said in a statement.

The study noted that innovation in technology in India has been on a steady rise, with major Indian deeptech startups filing 922 patents since 2008.

“… India’s emphasis on innovation is burgeoning. The filing of over 900 patents since 2008 by leading Indian deep-tech startups coupled with the submission of 32,000 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in India by other countries stood as a testament to this increasing focus,” it said.

The report further noted that the Chennai patent office accounted for nearly 70% of the India-origin filings by deeptech startups even as 25-30% of them are based out of Bengaluru. The majority of these are in the AI and healthcare space, it said.

After India, the US has been the key country of origin for patents across major deeptech startups in India.

Further, the report said India’s share in patents filed globally is just above 2%, indicating the need for more focused initiatives in this direction.

“The surge in patent filings within the last few years is a clear indication of India’s growing innovation prowess, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence. To further enhance domestic patent activity, collaborations among key stakeholders are essential for fostering and increasing awareness of intellectual property rights,” NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh said.