The economic performance of the intellectual property rights intensive industries in the European Un

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) published today a joint report (3rd edition) assessing the contribution of industries that make intensive use of the different types of intellectual property rights (IPR) to the economies of the EU between 2014 and 2016. The study finds that almost half of the economic activity in the EU (45% of the EU’s GDP worth EUR 6.6 trillion) was generated by industries that make intensive use of intellectual property rights and accounted for most of the EU’s trade with the rest of the world. Copyright-intensive industries accounted for 6.9% of the EU’s GDP. In terms of employment, these industries generated 63 million jobs (29% of all jobs). In addition, another 21 million people were employed in sectors that supply these industries with goods and services.

The joint report shows that the shares of these industries in EU employment and GDP are constantly growing and that, even during a severe financial crisis and recession in Europe, the IPR-intensive sectors coped better with the difficult conditions than did the rest of the economy.

FIAD welcomes these significant findings that confirm the increasing importance of intellectual assets in modern economies and serve to highlight further the important contribution of copyright industries to the prosperity and competitiveness of Europe.

You can find the study here.