77 Million Reasons Why IP Delivers
By Aaron Smethurst
Here at GIPC, we’re on a mission to promote the rights of innovators and creators around the world who are creating jobs, spurring economic growth, and delivering breakthrough solutions to global challenges. But this isn’t just hot air. Time after time, concrete data bolsters our core belief that intellectual property (IP) is a central pillar to economies around the world. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce released a study detailing the ways intellectual property supports jobs and promotes economic growth. The report found that IP-intensive industries create 40 million American jobs and account for $5 trillion of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).
But the benefits of IP deliver far beyond U.S. borders. Recently, the EU revealed the results of a similar study, finding similar contributions by IP-intensive industries to the EU’s economy.
Commissioned by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the report found that IP-intensive industries create 77 million jobs and generate 40% of the total economic activity throughout the EU – roughly 4.7 trillion euro annually. The President of EPO, Benoît Battistelli, noted that “this report shows that the benefits of patent and other [intellectual property rights] is not just economic theory. For innovative companies intangible assets have become extremely important… In order to remain competitive in the global economy, Europe needs to encourage even further the development and use of new technology and innovations.”
The Department of Commerce and EPO data really reinforce what we already know to be true. Since the launch of the IP Delivers campaign, the GIPC has met innovators from all over the world who can personally attest to the ways IP is critical to their businesses.
Take François Curtin, for example, of GeNeuro SA, a biotech company in Switzerland. GeNeuro is currently developing a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating disease which attacks the body’s central nervous system. Curtin can speak first-hand to the importance of IP as GeNeuro currently holds 28 patents on their technology in a variety of markets. Curtin noted that “without these series of patents, the project would not have been able to evolve into a company.” Curtin also spoke to the importance of pursuing patent protection in regions all around the world as the MS patient population is not limited to country borders.
The numbers and stories all add up to this: IP supports jobs, promotes innovation, increases access to new products and content, and stimulates economic growth around the world. Interested in hearing from other voices of IP? Visit our YouTube page and check out folks who can attest to the importance of IP, hailing from all corners of the globe.
