India is an innovation titan, leaves China in the dust: WSJ

NEW YORK: There is no silver bullet to innovation. The Wall Street Journal observed in a powerful commentary that New Delhi had gone the extra mile to revamp its intellectual property rights. Now the dividends were showing — India was cruising imperiously ahead of China in the innovation race.  

 

“It may appear as if India’s recent economic rise is solely due to its low-cost outsourcing opportunities for foreign businesses. But this is only part of the story,” said the US financial daily on Monday.

 

“India is rapidly evolving into Asia’s innovation centre, leaving China in the dust. Its secret weapon? Intellectual property-rights protection. In recent years, New Delhi has taken big steps to protect these rights, and the results have been dramatic,” it added.

 

In an effort to align itself with international treaties such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organisation, India revamped its copyright laws in the 1990s. The Indian Copyright Act was overhauled in 1994 to explain the rights of a copyright holder and the penalties for infringement of copyrighted software. The daily hailed the Indian law as one of the “toughest in the world.”  “These changes, which significantly ramped up enforcement provisions, will undoubtedly prove the most important for copyright protection on the subcontinent — far ahead of other countries in Asia,” said the daily. 

 

“The Indian courts have risen to the challenge. They have taken a broad approach to applying the new laws — especially to protect intellectual property in emerging fields such as information technology.”  Last year, India’s new patent law extended protection to computer software and pharmaceutical products. The changes have acted as a catalyst for foreign and domestic investment. India’s Patent Office also got a pat on the back for getting its act together: “Today, a patent can be granted in less than three years, as opposed to only a few years ago, where it took up to an average of five to seven years.”

 

“As a result, copyright-based industries such as the Indian IT sector have enjoyed rapid growth,” it said, adding that within the next few years, annual revenues from Indian software exports were tipped to touch $50 billion. It pointed out that Indian business and government labs were both filing for patents at astonishing rates.

 

“The number of Indian patent applications filed has increased 400% over the past 15 years. Nearly 800 Indian companies submitted international patent applications to the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2004…more than double the number of Indian patents applied for in 2000,” said the daily. It noted that Indian drug makers who have been producers of generic versions of brand-name drugs have also started “embracing innovation-based business models.”

 

The Wall Street Journal summed up that New Delhi’s actions are a “stark contrast” to China and Brazil. “When it comes to reigning in the rampant piracy of music, movies and software, these governments are lagging behind India. But to truly reach their potential for creativity and innovation, other emerging economic powers could take a few pointers from New Delhi.”

 

 

As a result of the Indian Copyright Act which was overhauled in 1994, copyright-based industries such as the Indian IT sector have enjoyed rapid growth.

 

The annual average rate of growth of Indian software exports from 1994 to 2002 was 48%, marking a drastic surge from the preceding five years, when the average growth was about 35%.

 

The number of Indian patent applications filed has increased 400% over the past 15 years.