Design and Intellectual Property (IP) includes services and platforms focused on protecting, managing and using original creations, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and industrial designs.

While figures for the design and IP market size are quite scattered within broader tech and startup ecosystem analyses, the overall Indian startup funding environment reached $12 Bn in 2024, marking a 10% rise year-on-year. This indicates a supportive backdrop for innovation-driven ventures, where IP protection is paramount.

Startups are disrupting this space by democratising access to legal and design expertise, streamlining the IP filing process, and offering technology-driven solutions for infringement detection.

They address key pain points such as the complexity and cost of IP registration, the lack of awareness among creators, and challenges in enforcing IP rights. Urgent solutions are required in developing more robust digital enforcement mechanisms, educating a wider audience on IP importance, and simplifying cross-border IP protection for Indian innovators.

Indian startups operating in this subcategory include LegalWiz.in, Vakilsearch, IndiaFilings, PatSeer (for patent search), and various design agencies that focus on creating protectable IP.