IP intensive industries contribute €6.6tn to EU’s GDP
Industries that make above-average use of IP rights contribute more than €6.6 trillion ($7.3 trillion) to the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) and account for more than 63 million jobs in the union.
The statistics come from the latest study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on the importance of IP rights for the EU economy.
Between 2014 and 2016, employment in IP rights-intensive industries in the EU grew by 1.3 million jobs, compared with 2011-13, while total EU employment declined slightly.
“The value-added per employee in these industries is higher than in the rest of the economy. Accordingly, IP rights-intensive industries pay significantly higher wages: on average 47% more than other sectors, with the figure rising to 72% for patent-intensive industries,” said the report.
Industries making intensive use of patents employ 24 million people and generate 16% of the EU’s total GDP.
In climate change mitigation technologies, patent-intensive industries accounted for 2.5% of employment and 4.7% of GDP in the EU in the two year period.
European firms already play a leading role in this technology sector (which is expected to grow as countries work towards the goals set by the Paris Agreement), with nearly 10% of all patent applications at the EPO from EU applicants in recent years relating to climate change mitigation technologies.
Christian Archambeau, executive director of the EUIPO, said: “Industries that use IP rights intensively play a crucial role in making the EU more prosperous and in securing their economic future. These industries are more resilient in the face of economic crisis and more innovative.”
He added that the challenge is to ensure that all firms and entrepreneurs can secure their IP rights, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
Cross-border creation
The joint report also looked at cross-border job creation by industries intensively using IP rights.
A relatively large share (27.8%) of IP rights-intensive dependent jobs in the UK is attributed to non-UK firms. More than one-third of these jobs are created by companies from other EU member states.
And, UK companies active in these industries create over 440,000 jobs or 8.3% of all EU cross-border jobs attributed to IP rights-intensive industries, placing the UK in third place after Germany and France.
In the UK, these industries account for more than 8.4 million jobs (28.1% of all UK jobs), and contribute more than EUR €1 trillion to the country’s GDP.
However, the overall GDP contribution of IP rights-intensive industries in the UK (42.6%) is slightly below the EU average of 44.8%. But, the UK is ranked first among EU countries for the contribution of its copyright-intensive industries to the economy.
António Campinos, president of the EPO, added: “The importance of IP rights-intensive industries reflects the strength of the knowledge-based economy in Europe. Businesses in these sectors often file bundles of IP rights in combination to protect their intellectual assets. This strategy creates products and services with high added value, and in doing so helps secure Europe’s long-term competitiveness.”
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