IT WAS party time for India in November when the "World Intellectual Property Indicators 2023" (WIPI) report was released. India was a star performer in the report compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which aggregates statistics culled from around 150 intellectual property offices worldwide to map global patenting activity. According to WIPI, this activity soared to record levels in 2022, fuelled by the substantial rise in patent filings by residents of China and India.
News of this kind invariably fans nationalist tendencies these days, and the media went to town on it, although these are figures for just applications and not grant of patents. Coming up for special mention was the WIPI observation that patent applications in India grew by 31.6 per cent in 2022, "extending an 11-year run of growth unmatched by any other country among the top 10 filers". Quite a feat, it would appear, when you look at the leading group. The top filers these are the countries with the highest numbers of patent filings-are China, the US, Japan, Republic of Korea and Germany, followed by France, India, the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Figures hide as much as they reveal; it all depends on the context and how much one wants to understand the big picture. Spectacular increases in percentages are possible on a low base figure, but not if one is already far ahead in the race. China is the world's largest patent holder, and it continues to file nearly half of all global patent applications.
With close to 1.6 million applications last year, it managed to notch up an increase of just 3.1 per cent in 2022. China was followed by the US with 505,539 applications, Japan (405,361), the Republic of Korea (272,315) and Germany (155,896). Applications in India were in the region of 77,000.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 16, 2023-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 16, 2023-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
TERMITE TRAP
A common tall grass variety provides a chemical-free option to control termites, highlights the need for mainstreaming local ecological knowledge
CLIMATE'S UNSOLICITED PAYOUT
Rising weather extremes is destabilising the insurance industry, driving up premium prices and pushing insurers out of high-risk markets. The crisis is also spurring re-invention of insurance sector.
NOTHING PSEUDO ABOUT IT
The fibre-rich banana pseudo-stem is a treasure trove of minerals and health benefits
Organic move
After 10,000 farmers in Dantewada district secured Chhattisgarh's first organic certification, the entire district now gears up to transition fully to organic farming
No more a rarity
What has caused widespread outbreak of the rare Guillain-Barré syndrome cases from seven states of the country?
DeepSeek AI model is a sobering idea for India
The Chinese artificial intelligence breakthrough reveals how far behind India is in the race for technological prowess
'Fragile terrain not the cause of tunnel collapse but an excuse'
In November 2023, the under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand collapsed, trapping 41 workers under the rubble. The rescue operation in the 4.5 km tunnel lasted 17 days and involved multiple teams. Australian geologist ARNOLD DIX, who is also the president of Switzerland-based International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, as well as an engineer, a barrister and a farmer, assisted in the mission at India's request. Dix has now written a book on the incident. In an interview with ADITYA MISRA, Dix says the mishap was a failure to adapt construction methods to the rock conditions encountered. Excerpts:
BUDGET SQUEEZE
Poised to woo the middle class and tame fiscal deficit, Union Budget 2025-26 cuts corners on key welfare schemes, offers little for climate adaptation and decarbonisation
Decoded script
Genomelndia project creates genomic sequence database of 10,000 Indians, moving a step forward in disease detection and treatment
Introduce layers in poverty measurement
This is with reference to the article \"Convenience of poverty lines\" (16-31 January, 2025). Poverty is not like atmospheric pressure, which can be scaled down with high-precision instruments. It is a matter of deprivation. Poverty is also highly misunderstood. At one extreme, poverty means no food, no clothes, bad health and inadequate shelters; in essence a dearth in common and customary amenities. One can recognise this poverty. But, even if a person's conditions are only a notch above this level, their situation slides through the slick fingers of all the measurement of figures and wielders of statistics.
