Background
This joint study by the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office provides a broad, improved assessment of how industries that make intensive use of intellectual property rights (IPR) contribute to EU economies. It updates and extends the findings of a previous study released in 2016.
The study covers a broad range of IP rights – trade marks, patents, designs, copyright, geographical indications (GIs) and plant variety rights (PVRs) – and considers multiple economic indicators, with a focus on gross domestic product (GDP), employment, wages and external trade. Instead of making policy recommendations, the study provides facts and figures that can be used by policymakers to raise awareness of intellectual property as an economic driver.