Spain: Innovation, trade marks and exports

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Spain: Innovation, trade marks and exports

The Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (SPTO) and the Spanish Association for the Defence of Trade marks (ANDEMA) in collaboration with the Leading Brands of Spain Forum (FMRE) and the Chamber of Commerce of Spain have analysed the impact of industrial property rights in our exports, with regard to the internationalisation of companies, the Spanish economy and employment.

The study "The triangle of a successful business: innovation, trade marks and exports", developed by a group of researchers from the University of Alicante, concluded that IP is of high relevance when it comes to export: 76% of the total exports in Spain, worth around €261,314 million, were supported by Spanish companies that are committed to the protection of their IP assets. Three of every four Spanish companies that become international and open new markets use industrial property as a positioning tool in their targeted markets.

The study found that 75.04% of Spanish exports, with a total value of €257,790 million, come from companies that protect their trade marks as a differentiating intangible asset. These results show the positive effects of trade marks on export activities: companies with trade marks in their portfolio export 30 times more than companies that only have patents or designs.

In addition, 32.05% of total Spanish exports, which reached a value of €110,092 million, are linked to Spanish export companies with patents, utility models or industrial designs in force within their IP portfolios.

Talking about employment and, according to this report, a total of 4,144,000 jobs are derived from the export activity of companies with industrial property assets included in this survey, that is the 73.84% of the total employment generated by Spanish exports.

Further, as to the main industrial sectors, the manufacturing industry plays a key role; its exports related to IP assets are €130,410 million, that is 80.74% of the total export in this area. This is followed by the transport and tourism sector and commerce, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles area, in which the exports due to trade marks exceed €40,000 million each.

The results of this report point out the outstanding significance in numbers of protecting innovation through IP rights, its interaction with exports and its contribution to the Spanish economy. Trade mark registration, in particular, maximises product differentiation and it enhances recognition in international markets, establishing a direct link with consumers, being crucial for growing at an accelerated pace in Spain.

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Isabel Cortés


PONS IPGlorieta Rubén Darío, 428010 – Madrid SpainTel: +34 917007600Fax: +34 913086103clientes@pons.eswww.ponsip.com

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