Companies that make intensive use of intellectual property rights (IPR) will provide 29.7% of all jobs in the EU in the 2017-2019 period. This is according to the latest edition of a report by the European Patent Office and the European Union's Intellectual Property Office. It means sectors using IPR directly employed more than 61 million people in the EU during that period.
In the Netherlands, sectors that use intellectual property rights above average account for 28.7% of employment here. This corresponds to 2.17 million jobs. It thus provides 41.9% of the gross national product. The sectors using intellectual property rights the most are horticulture and flower wholesale (trademarks and plant breeders' rights), medical devices (patents), chemical products (patents), food industry (patents, trademarks, breeders' rights and registered designs) and cosmetics (patents and trademarks).
Intellectual property rights in the Netherlands
The study also shows that the Netherlands is the EU location of choice for foreign companies interested in innovations and patent-intensive sectors. This applies to companies from both inside and outside the EU. As many as 31% of all Dutch jobs in patent-intensive companies are created by foreign companies. (Germany 21%, France 24% and Belgium 23%). The Netherlands is especially attractive to companies outside the EU. Of the 31% mentioned, more than half come from non-EU companies. This is the highest percentage compared to any other European country.
Higher wages
Business activities that make intensive use of IPR generate as much as 41% higher wages compared to other industries. According to the findings, value added per worker is higher in IPR-intensive sectors than elsewhere in the economy. The average weekly wage in IPR-intensive sectors is €840, compared with €597 in non-IR-intensive sectors. This "wage premium" is 34% in design-intensive sectors, 40% in trademark-intensive sectors, 49% in copyright-intensive sectors and 65% in patent-intensive sectors.
Europe's driving force for sustainability
IPR-intensive companies active in developing climate change mitigation technologies are a boon for the European economy. The report states. Their economic impact has also increased in recent years. They accounted for 9.3% of employment in the EU during 2017-2019. And 14.0% of gross national product. Overall, every 10th European patent application filed by an EU company or inventor in 2019 related to technologies that reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Green trademarks filed by EU companies accounted for a similar share of all EU trademark applications in 2021.
Innovation
EPO president António Campinos said: "Innovation, supported by an efficient intellectual property rights system, is key to ensuring Europe's long-term growth and competitiveness. This report also shows that IPR-intensive sectors are more important than ever for the European economy. So it is good news for companies and inventors that Europe's innovation environment will soon get an extra boost with the introduction of the European patent with unitary effect and the European Patent Court."
Photo: Photo: Michal Jarmoluk via Pixabay
