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EU Study on Intellectual Property Rights

17.10.2013

A recent study conducted jointly by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) shows that about 35% of all employment in the European Union rely on Intellectual Property Rights-intensive industries.

On 30 September this year, the European Commission issued a press release through which welcomed the publication of the Study “Intellectual Property Rights intensive industries: contribution to economic performance and employment in Europe”, which measures the importance of intellectual property rights in the EU economy. The study found that 39% of total economic activity in the EU (worth some €4.7 trillion annually ) is generated by Intellectual Property Rights-intensive industries, and approximately 26% of all employment in the EU (56 million jobs) is provided directly by these industries; while a further 9% of jobs in the EU stems indirectly from Intellectual Property Rights-intensive industries.

The study focuses on the EU economy and considers IPR-intensive industries as either those that register more intellectual property rights per employee than other industries or those where the use of intellectual property rights is an intrinsic characteristic of the industry’s activity. These industries are selected at EU-level, using EU-wide measures of Intellectual Property Rights intensity. The study also includes the list of all Intellectual Property Rights-intensive industries.

The study can be accessed at:
http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/OBS/IPContributionReport.en.do and
http://www.epo.org/service-support/publications/studies/ip-intensive-industries.html

More information on intellectual property in the EU is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/index_en.htm