Imagine That IP Law Blog

For many U.S. companies, a global patent strategy has traditionally focused on a familiar and possible short list of jurisdictions, including, for example, the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and South Korea. As a jurisdiction for seeking patent protection, India sometimes fell into the “nice to have” category, where companies would file if the budget allowed, or revisit it later if the business grew. As outlined below, companies need to start rethinking this strategy, as an Indian patent can be a viable and necessary part of the intellectual property (IP) portfolio.

India is increasingly a market where competitive patent positions are being built in real time, and where IP strategy can materially affect business outcomes, including partnerships, pricing, procurement, product launches, and long-term leverage. For U.S. companies that sell into India, build in India, or compete with India-based innovators, India is becoming harder to ignore.

Key Takeaways

• India’s patent activity has reached critical mass, and the rise in domestic filings points to sustained momentum.
• Indian patents increasingly matter for commercial leverage (partnerships, procurement, licensing, and M&A), not just litigation.
• A right-sized approach can focus on core differentiation and scale without making India an all-or-nothing decision.

Below are a few business-focused reasons why India should be treated as a key jurisdiction in patent filing discussions, and why U.S. companies should start treating Indian patents as a strategic asset rather than an afterthought.

India’s Patent Landscape Is Becoming Strategically Material
A key indicator of whether a jurisdiction matters, for the purpose of patent protection, is whether companies are filing there at scale, and whether that trend is accelerating. Recent reporting indicates the answer is yes. India reported 110,375 patent applications filed in FY 2024–25, with domestic filings of 68,201 (approximately 61.79% of total filings). This has two practical implications.

First, more patents in the system generally means more congestion, more competitive overlap, and more sophisticated behavior by rivals. Second, more domestic filings are a sign that local companies and institutions are actively building patent portfolios that can influence commercial negotiations. In other words, India is not just a place where foreign companies “park rights.” It is increasingly a jurisdiction where competitors are investing to win.

The takeaway is not simply that there are “more filings,” but what those filings often lead to: more enforceable rights held by a broader set of players, more portfolio building by local competitors, and more attention to IP during commercialization and scaling. And when a jurisdiction becomes a serious IP market, it tends to stay that way.

Indian Patents Are Becoming More Commercially Relevant
Even if India is not a company’s biggest revenue market today, India may still matter because it’s becoming a key node in how products are built and deployed, including engineering and software development, manufacturing and sourcing, localized product variants and compliance-driven features, and regional distribution into South Asia and other emerging markets.

This is one reason Indian patents can punch above their weight: they can become important in situations that are not traditional litigation, such as partnership negotiations and strategic alliances, supplier or OEM discussions, licensing conversations (including cross-border portfolios), and diligence and valuation in M&A or strategic financing.

For many executives and in-house leaders, the best way to think about Indian patents is not “Would we sue?” but rather: “Can Indian patent coverage give us leverage in a deal, a negotiation, or a market-entry decision?” Increasingly, the answer is yes.

Enforcement Infrastructure Is Becoming More Structured
A patent’s value ultimately depends on whether the system supports meaningful enforcement and dispute resolution. While enforcement strategy is always fact-specific, India has continued to take steps that signal institutional maturity. For example, the Delhi High Court has an IP division with formalized procedures for handling IP disputes in one of the country’s key commercial forums.

No one should assume “easy enforcement” anywhere. But U.S. companies evaluating patent value often look for signs that courts are developing repeatable processes for handling IP disputes, and India is trending in that direction.

When Does India Belong in Your “Core Patent Filing” List?
While not every company may need to file in India for every invention, India increasingly deserves a default seat at the table and should be strongly considered when any of the following are true:

• Sell products or services into India (or plan to in the next 12–24 months)
• Compete with companies building meaningful India operations
• Maintain R&D, engineering, or product teams in India
• Manufacture in India, source from India, or rely on India-based suppliers
• Operate in high-copying/high-velocity markets (consumer tech, devices, software-enabled systems)
• Expect partnership, licensing, or M&A activity where Indian patent rights may matter

A good rule of thumb is, “If India is important to your revenue, roadmap, engineering, or supply chain, it’s probably important to your patents.”

What a Selective India Strategy Looks Like
Many U.S. companies hesitate to file in India because they assume the choice is binary: file everything, or file nothing. However, in practice, the best strategies are often more selective. A smart approach may look like:

• filing patents for inventions that protect core product differentiation
• targeting India for technologies that are deployed at scale (or likely to be copied)
• building patent claim sets that support business outcomes (not just publication)
• creating a patent portfolio that aligns with where competitors are investing

The goal isn’t to maximize filings, but to maximize leverage.

Cost and logistics are usually manageable
One reason India has historically been treated as “optional” is a perception that it meaningfully increases the foreign filing budget. However, in most cases, this is not true. Indian Patent Office fees and prosecution costs tend to be lower than many other jurisdictions.

Bottom Line: India Is Becoming Too Important to Treat as Optional
India’s patent filing growth, combined with the strength of domestic innovation and expanding commercial relevance, points to a conclusion that India is increasingly a core patent jurisdiction for U.S. companies, and this trajectory is likely to continue.

If your company sells into India, builds in India, partners in India, or competes with India-based innovators, an Indian patent filing strategy can protect market position and increase negotiating leverage in ways that have real business impact well before any dispute.