SINGAPORE (June 16): Singapore has improved to 9th from 12th in this year’s Global Intellectual Property Index (GIPI5), doing especially well on areas such as copyright enforcement, cost-effectiveness, and exploitation.

The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom took the top three positions, followed by Canada, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Australia.

The year’s survey, the fifth in a series, was done by law firm Taylor Wessing. The latest edition covers 43 jurisdictions with seven new countries — Colombia, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Taiwan and Vietnam — added.

The countries were assessed in relation to obtaining, exploiting, enforcing and attacking five key IP rights: trade marks, patents, copyright, design and data protection.

Jonathan Kok, Head of Intellectual Property & Technology at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, the Singapore-based member of Taylor Wessing, lauds the improvement made by Singapore.

“As we move to a future driven by knowledge and innovation, it is even more critical for Singapore companies to continue supporting and protecting IP,” he says.

At the other end of the spectrum, China, often accused of turning a blind eye to IP piracy and counterfeiting activities, came in at 39th. This is followed by India, Taiwan, Egypt and Nigeria, ranked 40th to 43rd respectively.

“Having a credible and effective IP regime is increasingly recognised as a stimulus for home-grown innovation and investment,” says Roland Mallinson, partner and editor of GIPI5.

"It is crucial that all IP regimes are reviewed and updated on a constant basis. Those that are not will hamper the innovation, entrepreneurialism and competiveness of their domestic businesses and discourage inward investment into their countries,” he adds.