To mark the end of the year and the review that we all do at this time of year, we are bring back the report jointly produced by the European Patent Office and the EUIPO (published last October), which contains a more than interesting analysis of how intellectual property rights affect the development of European companies, whether at the level of individual firms, sectors, or the European economy in its broadest sense.

At PONS IP, one message that we always convey to our clients in relation to their inventions or trademarks is the importance of protecting the most intangible asset that they have, which is none other than the knowledge acquired through experience, and how this is transformed into a useful, that is, exploitable product and/or service.

This report reinforces this message based on data collected over the last ten years, examining the relationship between the filing of patent and trademark applications by newly started companies and their access to funding, on the one hand, and the success of exit strategies of new innovative startups, on the other.

In particular, the report notes that the relationship between IP rights and company performance is particularly clear for SMEs, showing that those companies active in the field of IP rights are more likely than others to experience high growth in the following years.

In addition, the study shows how newly started, innovative companies with well-managed IP obtaining more financing that allows them to turn their ideas into products in the marketplace, further examining how these IP rights facilitate the initial necessary financing through sale to another company or an IPO.

António Campinos (President of the EPO) and João Negrão (Executive Director of the EUIPO) conclude in their preamble letter to the report that IP rights are a crucial underpinning of the modern economy. For this reason, some of the most imminent challenges that organisations such as the EPO and the EUIPO face can be solved by making the patent system more accessible to newly started, innovative companies. EU trademarks and European patents appear to be instrumental in this regard, and as of this year, the Unitary Patent also paves the way for high-tech ventures to expand into a much larger market. Making IP even more accessible is also what drives the vision behind the strategic plans of both the EPO and EUIPO in their programs to support SMEs, as well as the IP Action Plan of the European Commission.

Details of the report, as well as a summary of the most relevant data, can be found via the following links:

https://www.euipo.europa.eu/es/news/observatory/euipo-epo-study

2023_Patents_trade_marks_and_startup_finance_FullR_en.pdf (europa.eu)

Isabel Marco
Innovation Projects Manager at PONS IP