Number of filing alone won't give you the full picture. Number of patents successfully commercialised will. India has been filing an increasing number of patents lately (still lesser than US), but only a fraction gets successfully commercialised. Clearly the PO is not checking for that industrial use factor very closely.
IP Law is the worst practice area to be in. Repeated mundane clerical, still time taking. Especially patent law. Also, the pay in IP is the least amongst all practice areas. Firm don't want to hire and want you to do clerical work of more than one person can do.
Here is the right answer: the US is a first world country and a technological and creative powerhouse. The value of IP assets in the US is higher and the issues involved in legal disputes are more sophisticated, be it a biotech patent case or a Hollywood copyright case. In India, we don't create any IP of high-value. In fact, we are a county which discourages creative thinking.
I've wondered about the same. I think it's because a good standards law or patent law lawyer in India needs to have a strong grasp of very technical/specific knowledge related to whatever technology that is being disputed (besides the law). The IP/tech lawyers that really know their stuff are all in-house or freelance. I suppose that way they earn more as they're all dual degree holders like B.Sc/M.Sc,Biotech + LL.B/ B.Tech + LL.B etc. Plus, I imagine keeping such lawyers on retainer/partner would be very expensive for law firms since IP/ tech law is a very niche and small practice area in India right now. There isn't enough work in terms of big money matters. This is just me guessing tho. I may not be right.
In the US and other Western countries there are lots of blockbuster cases involving IP and IT law disputes. Billing rates of lawyers can be very high. But in India it seems that corporate law hogs all the attention and glamour, in terms of billing rates, prestige and rankings by placement committees. Even websites like Legally India focus exclusively on corporate law firms. Why is it so?
Entrepreneurship in India is still fairly new and there just aren't enough innovations happening
We are a low-innovation country which just specialises in copying.
Plus, I imagine keeping such lawyers on retainer/partner would be very expensive for law firms since IP/ tech law is a very niche and small practice area in India right now. There isn't enough work in terms of big money matters.
This is just me guessing tho. I may not be right.