Euipo: positive impact for SMEs with registered IP assets

On September 28, 2022, Euipo's European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights released the third edition of the "Intellectual Property SME Scoreboard," which provides updated data on SMEs protecting their innovation and creativity.

The 2022 edition of the conducted study shows that only 10% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU own registered intellectual property rights, such as national and European trademarks, designs and patents. However, among them, almost all of them (i.e. 93%) reported a positive impact on their business.

In particular, SMEs mentioned improved company reputation or image (60%), better protection of IP assets (58%), and better long-term business prospects (48%) due to the registration of IP rights. Still, one-third of SMEs (36%) that own IP rights say they have made a financial gain from registered IP rights.

The reasons for non-registration by SMEs vary: from lack of knowledge of the benefits of registration (35%); perceived lack of innovativeness of their intellectual asset (20%); insufficient knowledge (19%); or lack of registration requirements (19%).

The study also showed that among SMEs with a registered intellectual property right, 15% had experienced infringement of their rights, resulting in loss of turnover and reputation. 9 out of 10 of these SMEs have taken steps to enforce their IP rights.