This study, published by the EUIPO through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, looks at the simultaneous use of patents, trade marks and registered designs by EU businesses.

The study is based on a sample of more than 63,000 companies across all Member States and shows that businesses that use multiple IP rights (IPR) account for a disproportionate share of employment and turnover among the businesses in the sample. Larger businesses tend to have more IPR bundles than SMEs. Patents are the right most frequently combined with other IPRs. The study also found significant differences in the bundling of IPRs across the different sectors of the economy, with businesses in the manufacturing sector much more likely to bundle IPRs than those in the services sector. To read EUIPO’s announcement in full and for a link to the study, click here.