Direct contribution of IPR-intensive industries to employment and to GDP, in the EU

Following the model of the USPTO study, in September 2013 the EPO together with OHIM published an analysis report on the contribution of IPR-intensive industries to economic performance and job growth in the EU-27 (data for Croatia were not available). The report considers that about half of EU industries are IP-intensive (trademark, design, patent, copyright and GIs). It concludes that approximately 56.5 million jobs (or 26% of all jobs in the EU) were generated directly by these industries in the period 2008-10. To these, indirect employment added about 20 million jobs. The added value of IP-intensive industries, namely €4.7 trillion, amounted to around 39% of GDP over the same period. The report also finds that a share representing 88% of EU imports and 90% of EU exports are IPR-intensive.