Ownership brands and patents Being registered not only helps to compete on better terms and protect against copying or tampering, but also additional guarantee when purchasing financing. Specifically, startups that own such intellectual property rights in their launch or initial stages, Up to 10.2 times more likely to obtain required resources For their development.
This is revealed in a new joint study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Alicante-based European Agency, which analyzes to what extent the protection of such rights can contribute to success. of these companies.
In general terms, the report shows that: 29% of European startups have registered some form of intellectual property rights, a slightly reduced figure In the example of Spain, this rate is 23%. Early stage companies with trademarks or patents.
In terms of sectors biotechnological The highest use of these intellectual property rights has been recorded, with almost half of biotechnology startups in Europe using one of them. Specifically, 48% of biotech startups have filed patents and 47% have registered trademarks. The sector with the highest percentage of startups having both was the sector with 31%.
The sector with the second highest proportion of emerging companies with intellectual property rights science And engineering (16%), 38% of companies applied for a trademark and 25% applied for a patent. The results are similar health care And manufacturing industryBecause 30% of the companies in these sectors have registered some of these rights.
While all products and services can carry trademarks and these trademarks can be protected by registration, especially ServicesTheir innovations cannot be patented.
In addition to the ones mentioned, other sectors where patents are used extensively are as follows: media And entertainment (21%), information Technology (20%), energy (19%), natural resources (18%) and Sustainability (17%). Other intensive usage sectors for brands are: Sustainability (37%), energy (36%), artificial intelligence (36%), agriculture And cattle breeding (36%) and natural resources (35%).
European protection
Research shows that ownership is the same way. Intellectual property rights at European level Early stage financing provides an even greater advantage with its guaranteed rate. Exceeds five times the national duties (This probability is 6.1 times higher for trademarks and 5.3 times higher for patents). It’s an advantage that could be particularly useful for ‘Deep Tech’, which are initiatives based on scientific discoveries or the development of new technologies that require large investments and long commercialization periods, as noted by those responsible for the study. .
The EUIPO and EPO report also notes the significant differences emerging in this field between emerging companies in different European countries. For this reason, Finland And France They have the highest percentage of startups with intellectual property registration at 42% each. They are then followed Germany And Austriawith 40%; Denmarkwith 34%, Italy (39%), Norway (37%), Czech Republic (31%), Sweden (34%) and Switzerland (32%).
For your part, Spain This rate is slightly lower, 23%. Specifically, up to 21% have a registered trademark, while the number of emerging companies holding a patent reaches 4%.
Ratings
President of the European Patent Office (EPO), Antonio Campinos, remember: “startups dynamic catalysts of innovation and economic growth“, so it is especially important to support them in their development. “This year the EPO unitary patentbut now we are new Patent and Technology Observatory “It will introduce the EPO’s Deep Tech Finder, an innovative tool that will allow potential investors to identify and evaluate emerging companies with pioneering and promising new technologies,” explained the Portuguese. Exactly this Tuesday in Munich, where Eurogency is headquartered Introduced in , this new tool.
João Negrão, director general of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), said:Intangible assets represent the majority of a company’s valueand formal intellectual property rights such as trademarks are not only legal guarantees for investments in intangible assets, but are also key to securing financing and collaborations.”
In the same vein, he emphasized that trademark is the most used form in the field of intellectual property protection and therefore emphasized the importance of supporting its registration by emerging companies. Therefore, he reminded that EUIPO has authority. SME support program in this assignment.
For the development of this study titled Patents, trademarks and startup financing (Patents, Trademarks and Startup Financing), EPO and EUIPO matched national and European patent and trademark applications with the Crunchbase database to get an overview of the relationship between copyright activity intellectual property of emerging companies and their financing. This study complements the findings of previous EPO and EUIPO reports focusing on the relationship between IPR behavior and companies’ turnover and growth.