EU IPO study shows high-performance companies have more IP rights

The report by the EPO and EU IPO is the result of research by the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property into ‘the impact, role and public perception of intellectual property in the economy of the EU.

 

The joint study entitled Intellectual property rights and firm performance in the EU covers a period between 2007 and 2019, so includes the UK.  Using the measure of ‘revenue per employee’, it compares the economic performance of companies which own patents, trade marks and designs with those with no intellectual property rights.

 

“The results of the analysis strongly suggest that there is a systematic, positive relationship between ownership of IPRs and economic performance at individual firm level.”

 

This association is especially strong in the case of SMEs, and the findings indicate that:

• Revenue per employee for owners of IPRs (patents, trade marks and/or designs, national and/or European) is on average 20% higher than for non-owners of IPRs.
• This IPR ownership “revenue premium” is largest for patent owners at 36.3%, followed by design owners at 32.2%, and trade mark owners at 20.9%
• Wages paid by IPR owners are on average 19.3% higher than those paid by firms that do not own IPRs.
• The “wage premium” is highest for patents (52.6%), followed by designs (29.7%) and trade marks (17.4%).

 

“However, over 90 % of firms do not own any of the three intellectual property rights,” notes European Patent Attorney Kelda Style.  “This report highlights that there is still huge scope for many SMEs to enhance their performance by exploring and capturing the innovation within their busines and protecting it via patents trade marks or designs.  With these premiums up for grabs, ambitious SMEs need to look carefully at their intellectual property strategy.”

 

Click here to download a copy of the executive summary.

 

This briefing is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice relating to your particular circumstances. We can discuss specific issues and facts on an individual basis. Please note that the law may have changed since the day this was first published in February 2021.