SMEs in the EU that have a registered trademark, design or patent are better off compared to companies that do not own any intellectual property rights. This is revealed by the 3rd edition of the SME scoreboard for intellectual property. The SME scoreboard is an initiative of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
The SME scoreboard contains the results of an EU-wide survey carried out in 2022 on intellectual property rights (IP rights) among 8,372 SMEs from the 27 EU Member States.
3 surprising outcomes revealed by the SME scoreboard
10% of the SMEs in the EU own registered IP rights;
93% of those companies report they gain advantage from their registered IP rights;
36% report they have achieved financial gain from their registered IP rights.
Profit thanks to IP rights
The results of the most recent SME scoreboard for intellectual property confirm the positive relationship between IP rights and economic performance. Previous study by EUIPO revealed that SMEs that own IP rights had 68% greater turnover per employee than SMEs without any IP rights.
The SME scoreboard shows that by registering IP rights SMEs stand to gain a number of advantages:
- 60% benefit from improved reputation or image;
- 58% have improved protection of their intellectual property;
- 48% have improved long-term business prospects.
Importance of SMEs
SMEs play a key role in each economic sector in the EU and function as an essential driving force for innovation. 99% of all the companies in the EU are SMEs. They provide work to approximately 100 million people and generate more than half of the European gross domestic product: the value of all the goods and services produced.
Reasons to apply for IP rights
SMEs report different reasons for registering their IP rights, including, for example:
- preventing copying and counterfeiting: 66%;
- improving the value and image of the company: 65%;
- having more legal certainty for their position: 63%;
- effective enforcement: 51%.