A report released by UN's World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has revealed a 50 per cent surge in the number of patents granted in India in 2017 as compared to the previous year. This has brought India to the tenth position worldwide in the number of patents granted, up from the twelfth spot in the previous year’s rankings, reports The Economic Times.

The report titled World Intellectual Property Indicators was released in Geneva on Monday (3 December) and showed that 12,387 patents were granted in India in 2017, compared to 8,248 in 2016.

Comparing data from 2015 when 6,022 patents were granted, there has been a doubling of patents in a two-year time span. However, a vast majority of patents were issued to foreign individuals and entities, who received 10,675 patents, while patents granted to domestic applicants numbered 1,712.

Although 85 per cent of the total increase can been attributed to patents granted to foreigners, patents granted to domestic parties have also been on an upward trajectory, rising more than 53 per cent between 2016 and 2017.

"Demand for IP (intellectual property) protection is rising faster than the rate of global economic growth, illustrating that IP-backed innovation is an increasingly critical component of competition and commercial activity," Director-General of WIPO Francis Gurry stated at the report’s release in China.

China currently holds the number one rank in the number of patents granted, at 420,144 patents out of the world total of 1.4 million granted in 2017. The second rank is held by the United States with 318,829 patents.

About 15.7 per cent of the 46,582 patent applications filed in India last year came from the pharmaceutical sector.