OHIM, through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), has carried out and has published (https://oami.europa.eu/ohimportal/it/web/observatory/news/-/action/view/2189009) the results of a very interesting study in connection with the influence of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) at the firm or company level.

The conclusion of this analysis is that the ownership of IPRs, specifically patents, trademarks and designs, is strongly associated with improved economic performance at the level of the individual company. This association is especially strong in the case of SMEs. In fact the analysis has shown that companies in Europe that own any of the three IPRs examined (trademarks, patents, designs) perform significantly better (+ 28 per cent) in terms of revenue per employee than companies that do not own these IPRs and also they employ far more workers and pay higher salaries than those companies that do not own there IPR’s.

We may not but conclude that it is worthy to invest in IPR’s and it is also worthy to remember that it is not only the fact of owning an IP right per se. In fact, you conduct availability searches before secure your IPRs, so you already know if there exist already other similar prior rights or if your right is valuable and strong; you also have a scenario of similar rights owned by competitors; you file your IPRs and menage them, by licensing your rights or by assigning your rights to a third party. At the end, IPR’s are a valuable asset and give you a leg up with reference to your competitors.

Invest and secure your IPR’s then!