WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY 2026.

 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) celebrate Intellectual Property Day every year on 26th April since 2000 to create awareness about how  patents, copyrights trademarks and designs impact our day today life.Intellectual property is integral to creation of human mind  which could be incorporated as creative or inventive work like-inventions ,artistic works,books,music, films, designs etc. According to Albert Einstein the creation of human mind is interlinked with power of imagination and the ability to stand on existing foundation of accepted knowledge and see beyond to the next frontier of discovery. In effect that is the source of personal cultural and economic advancement. The idea of Intellectual property originated from the realization that let individuals reap exclusive fruits of human intellect from their knowledge, creativity, expertise, skills, scientific and traditional resources research and work experience. In other words original creations of human mind which have economic value need to be protected.Different types of IP rights  available to IP holders which include- patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, trade secrets and Geographical Indications.1. Patent is granted for new useful and non obvious invention .It gives patent holder the right to prevent others from practising the invention without a license from the inventor for a certain period of time. 2 Copyright is associated with creative and artistic works like book,music , paintings, photographs, and software. Copyright holder gets exclusive rights to control reproduction or adoption of such works for  certain period of time .3.A Trade Mark is a distinctive sign which is used to distinguish the products or services for a certain period of time.4.An industrial designs right protects the form of appearance, style or design of an industrial object. 5.Trade Secret or 'confidential information 'is secret non public information concerning the commercial practices or proprietary knowledge of  a business. 6.Geographical Indications GI refers to signs or names used to products like agricultural goods, food stuffs, wines and handicrafts that originate from  a specific geographical location eg.Darjling tea, Aranmulla mirror etc.

SURGE IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  FILINGS IN INDIA 

Due to increasing IP awareness programmes, IP infrastructure and IP manpower India witnessed a surge in IP filings in recent years.  An examination of various IP rights shows that -while duration of patent rights is 20 years, Copyright Act  provide authors lifetime + 60 years,producer's right 60 years and performers right 50 years respectively Trade Mark is eligible for 10 years duration which can be renewed further for  10 years. Geopolitical Indications (GI) right for 10 years duration renewable for another 10 years subject to payment of renewable fee.The Designs Act provides 10 years duration originally. India's Patent Act 1970was universally acclaimed for it's merrits in fostering innovation by providing 20 years of exclusive patent rights promoting economic growth and ensuring public interest through clauses including Compulsory Licensing and ensuring affordable access to essential commodities. But after the GATT Uruguay round of trade negotiations and consequent establishment of World Trade Organisation in 1995 IP rights were linked with Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement were signed at the  global level. 

Generally patent rights and Copyrights are considered as the most powerful IP Rights in any country.India was  ranked as the 6th largest Patent filing country in the world next to China, USA, Japan, South Korea and Germany.As per 2024 data total number of active patents showed that the  Chinese share of global patents were  at  whopping 49.1%(1044777) followed by USA 16.2% (603194)and Japan 8.2%(306855),South Korea 246.245 with  India ranking 5th position of  64941 active patents  followed by Russia 26698,Germany 23994 and Australia 19276.It is evident that there is an Asian dominance in patent Grants world wide and India witnessed a19.4% surge in patent applications in 2024.According to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal filing of patent application in India increased by 30.2% to 143729 in 2025-26 as against 110375 in the year 2024-25.Distribution of patents in India showed that traditionally mechanical and chemical engineering dominated in the patents share but share of computer science shot up from just 1.27%in 2000 to 26.5% in 2023.Further the share of Electric Engineering increased from 8.27% to16.4 %  biomedical  patent filing s shot up from 0.7% to 10% during  the same time. Among other IP rights  Trade Mark granted shot up by 27 times from 6767 in 1991-92 to 184325 in 2024-25. Industrial Designs increased from 921 in 1991-92 to 4175 in 2005-06.Comparative trends in industrial property comprising of patents,trademarks and industrial designs showed that trade marks  took lion's share 85.64, followed by patents 6.78 and Designs 5.56%.Number of copy rights  granted in India varied from 18250 in 2018-19.24451 in 2020-21 and 30988 in 2021-22 and 29446 in 2023-23.As on July 2025 the number of Geographical Indications GI tag issued in India were 697 and Uttar Pradesh topped first followed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.As per 2025 data Tamil Nadu is leading in patent filings in India with 20012  followed by Karnataka 10573 and  Maharashtra 10468.In fact these three states consistently account for more than half of patent filing in the country.In short India witnessed historic 44% surge in Intellectual Property filings over the past 5 years from approximately 477533 applications in 2020-21 to about 6.9 lakhs in 2024-25. Measures like starting of Intellectual property Cells in different universities and research institutions, development of different IP Centers with adequate manpower and facilities , digitalisation, simplification of rules and procedures and facility to submit application  online and  a series of IP awareness programs were behind surge in IP filings in India.

WORLD IP DAY 26TH APRIL 2026: THEME -"IP AND SPORTS-READY SET, INNOVATE!"

According to WIPO"World IP Day offers a unique opportunity to join with others around the world to consider how a balanced IP system helps the global art scene to flourish and enables the technological innovation that drives human  progress."World  Intellectual Property Day 2026 being celebrated on April 26th with the official WIPO theme "IP and Sports-Ready, Set  Innovate" .It highlights how  different IP rights like patents ,trademarks ,copyrights and designs drive creativity technological advancement, and economic growth within the global sports eco system. Sports development have both direct and indirect benefits in terms of  social, economic, health, financial and empowerment benefits. Sports provide not only safe environment for marginalised groups but better social interaction and greater emotional attachments between different regions and countries of the world. The main focus of this year's theme is the role of IP in supporting both creators and innovators in the process of transforming passion into  performance that ranges from covering areas from cutting edge, athletic equipment and dynamic technologies to inspiring brands and broadcast innovations. Innovating in India's $ 52 billion sports sector require leveraging AI  wearables and fan engagement platforms to drive growth beyond Cricket. Major innovation opportunities are - Sports Tech and AI,Manufacturing and equipment, which requires fan engagement and media,particularly leveraging India's 750 million + internet users  for personalized content  OTT streaming and Web 3 experiences. Full grassroots infrastructure and and Management, Emerging Sports and Leagues and Health nutrition and wellness sectors are very significant. In short  if we make appropriate measures to develop grass roots talent scouting, high performance coaching, tech specialized sports manufacturing and digital fan experiences, India's sports market is set to reach $130 billion by 2030.