International IP Index Warns EU Efforts to Weaken Pharma IP Could Cause Investment to Migrate

Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) published the 2025 International IP Index, the Chamber’s annual assessment of legal frameworks for intellectual property (IP) protections in countries across the globe. While this year’s IP Index marked little movement among the top nations for IP legal frameworks, leaving the United States as the top nation overall for yet another year, stronger IP protections in Middle Eastern countries and efforts to weaken IP protections for pharmaceuticals in the EU and U.S. were among the key findings driving changes to this year’s report.

Index Shows Improving IP Frameworks in Middle East, Minor Changes Overall

Overall, the U.S. Chamber’s 2025 IP Index reflects an improving environment for IP protections across the globe, with index scores improving for 33 countries and dropping marginally in only two countries, according to the report’s executive summary. Among the top 10 national economies for overall IP protections, few changes from 2024’s International IP Index rankings were seen except for the Netherlands and Japan swapping positions to sixth- and seventh-place, respectively, and South Korea supplanting Switzerland for the final spot among the top 10 national IP frameworks.

The greatest improvement in overall IP framework scores by percentage points were seen in a trio of Middle Eastern countries: Saudi Arabia (17.55%); the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (11.22%); and Kuwait (8.87%). The U.S. Chamber’s IP Index notes that these results underscore a generally improving environment for IP protection across the region, while specifically citing new programs in both Kuwait and the UAE giving IP rights holders the ability to disable access to websites offering infringing content as a form of administrative-style injunctive relief. The U.S. Chamber’s full IP Index indicates that Saudi Arabia’s score improved mainly owing to its strong performance in a new category metric, Incentives for Cutting-Edge Innovation, thanks to support for research and commercialization pathways for treatments to rare diseases.

Saudi Arabia’s support for orphan drug products is made more impressive by the state of overall scores for the new Incentives for Cutting-Edge Innovation category, the weakest category in the 2025 International IP Index at an average score of 27.39%, trailing far behind second-worst Trade Secret and Confidential Information Protection (49.27%). The strongest category for average scores on this year’s IP Index was Design Rights, Related Rights and Limitations (64.18%), which was slightly ahead of Systemic Efficiency, which scores efficiency for IP registration and enforcement, and Membership and Ratification of International Treaties, both of which were tied with a 63.91% average score. Among traditional forms of IP, average scores for trademarks were highest at 63.41%, followed by patents at 59.82% and copyrights at 51.45%.

TRIPS Agreement Enables Significant Growth in Tech, IP Transfer to Low-Income Economies

Slight dips in the overall scores for IP legal frameworks in the U.S. and among EU countries are attributable to legislative and executive actions increasing uncertainty around IP protections for pharmaceutical products. While recent proposed changes to the EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation would only reduce regulatory data protection for new pharmaceuticals from 8 years to 7.5 years, instead of the 6 years as originally proposed, the U.S. Chamber’s key findings note that weakened IP incentives under the law as proposed would “exacerbat[e] the existing trend of investment leaving Europe.” In the U.S., Executive Branch action to exercise Bayh-Dole march-in rights and controversial drug price negotiation tactics authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act are similarly weakening the framework for life sciences innovation, the U.S. Chamber concludes.

This year’s International IP Index also includes a look at the increases in global IP registration and enforcement in the three decades since the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement came into force at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Tracking economic statistics since 1990, the U.S. Chamber reports that the global value in the trade of IP assets increased 17 times to $446 billion, while the proportion of overall trade in IP assets and tech transfer from high-income to low- and middle-income economies increased threefold during the same period, indicating significant growth in the ability of poorer nations to benefit from innovation spurred on by the world’s wealthiest economies. The U.S. Chamber notes that Africa has benefited tremendously from international IP treaties like the TRIPS Agreement, with trademark filings on that continent increasing 450% from 1993 to 2023.

Finally, the 2025 International IP Index also identifies shortfalls in implementing IP-related provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement, an increasingly relevant topic given growing tensions with those traditional trade partners in the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency. The U.S. Chamber notes that Mexico has yet to implement biopharmaceutical-related provisions on patent enforcement and timely marketing authorization, while Canada hasn’t met its mandate to establish an effective patent term adjustment mechanism. The report also states that full implementation of the Phase One Trade Agreement with major foreign economic rival China will mitigate trade irritants between both nations while enhancing China’s creative ecosystem.