Statistics on the Value and Importance of Intellectual Property

How important is intellectual property?

Intellectual property is an economic driver in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and increasingly around the globe:

• 51% of Canada's economy is represented by knowledge-based industries; over time, Canada is becoming increasingly dependent on industries of intangible goods and industries propelled by research and development.
• As of 2008, innovative property composed 31.2% of all intangible wealth in Canada, amounting to $47 billion; this proportion continues to grow as intangible industries expand and tangible industries experience little to no change.
• The number of patent applications filed in Canada in a given a year generally increases year-after-year.
• In 2019 – 2020, CIPO saw:
  • 37,999 patent applications filed (approximately a third of which related to the chemistry sector);
  • 68,385 trademark applications filed;
  • 7,408 industrial design applications filed (up 21%); and
  • 8,753 copyright registrations (almost half for literary works).
• Within only several months of joining the Madrid Protocol, Canada had been designated in over 15,000 international trademark applications, and Canadians had filed 453 applications for international registration with CIPO.
• 17.5% of all businesses in Canada own at least one type of intellectual property. 12.9% own one or more trademarks.
• Trademark class counts in applications before CIPO rose from 123,581 in 2010 to 187,642 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in applications before CIPO rose from 5,142 in 2010 to 6,818 in 2018.
• IP industries account for 38.2% of the total GDP of the U.S. and for almost ¾ of the U.S.'s exports; America's intellectual property accounts for $6.6 trillion in added value.
• Intangible assets account for 70% of firm assets and over 70% of equity value in the United States; the figure is similar for other developed countries.
• There are 81 IP-intensive industries in the US which accounted for 27.9 million jobs in 2014; these jobs also indirectly support an additional 17.6 million supply chain jobs through the economy; in total, IP-intensive industries directly and indirectly support 45.5 million jobs, approximately 30% of all employment in the US.
• Workers in IP-intensive industries in the US on average earn 46% more than non-IP-intensive industry workers.
• Revenue from licensing IP rights in the US totaled $115.2 billion in 2012 across 28 industries.
• Merchandise exports in the US from IP-intensive industries reached $842 billion in 2014.
• Exports of service-providing IP-intensive industries totaled $81 billion in 2012, accounting for about 12.3% of total US private services exported.
• Merchandise imports into US IP-intensive industries totaled $1,391 billion in 2014.
• Between 2007 and 2009, 42% of US manufacturing firms reported patenting their most significant new product.
• More than half of the revenue of the US motion picture and video industries, lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets, and independent artists, writers, and performers are directly derived from IP.
• In the US computer and peripheral equipment industries, there are 658.40 patents per 1000 jobs; for the US communications equipment industry, there are 581.75 patents per 1000 jobs.
• Patent applications before the USPTO rose from 490,226 in 2010 to 597,141 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in applications before the USPTO rose from 377,507 in 2010 to 640,181 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in applications before the USPTO rose from 29,059 in 2010 to 47,137 in 2018.
• Intellectual-property intensive industries directly contribute 29% of the EU's employment and 45% of the EU's GDP; 90% of EU exports and 88% of EU imports consist of products manufactured in IPR-intensive industries.
• Employment in IP-intensive industries in the EU grew by 1.3 million jobs between 2011 and 2013.
• IP-intensive industries in the EU pay 47% more on average than non-intellectual property sectors; this figure rises to 72% more for patent-intensive industries
• IP-intensive industries account for 81% of the EU’s trade in goods and services with other regions of the world.
• IP-intensive industries in the EU experienced an overall trade surplus of approximately EUR 182 billion in 2016.
• Patent applications in Europe rose from 343,300 in 2010 to 362,000 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in Europe rose from 1,981,900 in 2010 to 2,252,200 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in Europe rose from 258,700 in 2010 to 301,300 in 2018.
• Patent applications in Asia rose from 1,028,700 in 2010 to 2,221,800 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in Asia rose from 2,395, 600 in 2010 to 8,287,400 in 2017.
• Industrial design class counts in Asia rose from 588,700 in 2010 to 914,900 in 2018.
• Patent applications in Latin America rose from 55,400 in 2010 to 56,000 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in Latin America rose from 600,700 in 2010 to 751,000 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in Latin America rose from 14,200 in 2010 to 15,300 in 2018.
• Patent applications in Africa rose from 12,700 in 2010 to 17,000 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in Africa rose from 193,300 in 2010 to 245,500 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in Africa rose from 16,200 in 2010 to 17,400 in 2018.
• Patent applications in Oceania rose from 31,600 in 2010 to 36,200 in 2018.
• Trademark class counts in Oceania rose from 139,900 in 2010 to 199,600 in 2018.
• Industrial design class counts in Oceania rose from 8,900 in 2010 to 9,700 in 2018.
• Patent rights in force worldwide rose from 8,409,585 in 2010 to 13,950,543 in 2018.
• Trademark rights in force worldwide rose from 25,758,000 in 2010 to 49,253,500 in 2018.
• Industrial design rights in force worldwide rose from 3,220,800 in 2010 to 3,988,900 in 2018.
• Patent applications rose 3.4% globally from 3,281,900 in 2020 to 3,401,100 in 2021.
• Trademark applications rose 5.5.% globally from 17,193,800 in 2020 to 18,145,100 in 2021.
• Industrial design applications rose 9.2% globally from 1,387,800 in 2020 to 1,515,200 in 2021.

Intellectual property helps workers and businesses:

• There is a wage premium in intellectual property-intensive industries; it is highest for patent and copyright-intensive industries, but considerable for trademark-intensive industries; the wage premium can often exceed 30% when compared to average market wages.
• The value of intellectual property for Fortune 500 Companies exceeds 65% on average and exceeds 90% for certain companies within the group.
• Among the most innovative firms in Canada (world-first innovation), the rate of acquiring intellectual property is over 90%.
• Intellectual property can account for over 40% of the average business and is often not reflected on their balance sheet.
• However, 67% of U.S. companies own technological assets that they are failing to exploit and that are potentially eligible for intellectual property protections (valued up to $1 trillion).
• 27.7% of jobs in the U.S. are in intellectual property intensive industries.
• 90% of U.S. exporters hold one or more patents.

How can obtaining patents help your business?

• The quality of Canada's patents exceeds any other country in the G-7 except the U.S., with patents being extremely significant on the overall growth trend of knowledge industries.
• Acquiring patents could help you attract quality talent: the patent sector is responsible for 1/5 of all jobs in Canada; companies who have applied for and been granted patents have been proven to have higher employment and wage rates compared to their industry counterparts
• Obtaining a patent can gear you toward global export: the patent sector in Canada is heavily oriented toward external markets; exports of intangible assets are highly valued across the world
• Getting a patent could help you stay in business: firms that applied for at least one patent have a 14% lower chance of exiting the market over a 5-year period than firms inactive with intellectual property rights, all other variables equal.

How can registering your trademarks help your business?

• Trademarks are low-cost intellectual property assets, and as such, an investment in a trademark is a worthwhile endeavor even for a very small firm.
• Getting a trademark registration for your business or trade name could help you stay in business: applying for a trademark registration prolongs the lifespan of a firm by 6.6 years on average; applying for a renewal of a trademark registration further extends that lifespan; further, firms that applied for at least one trademark registration have a 16% lower chance of exiting the market over a 5-year period than firms inactive with intellectual property rights, all other variables equal.
• Trademark registrations can increase your profits: the enhanced trademark protection granted by registering your trademarks raises firm profitability by 1.7% and firm value by 11.9%, relative to matched and industry year adjusted control firms; it is also proven that investors assign higher values to companies with larger trademark portfolios.
• Trademark registrations can help you leverage firm assets, emphasize the importance of the trademark to insiders and outsiders, and improve the marketability of firm assets.
• However, small firms are consistently behind on capitalizing on trademark benefits: only 30% of small firms have applied for trademark registrations, as compared to over 90% of large ones.
• A 2019 Survey conducted by Statistics Canada showed that more than 50% of businesses credited IP ownership with increasing the value of their business by bolstering reputation and goodwill, increasing business revenues, strengthening long term business prospects and helping to expand business markets.

Ready to discuss applying for intellectual property rights? Contact us for a complimentary and confidential initial telephone appointment with a member of our team.