According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), infringement of intellectual property (IP) rights is proving to be a major risk to the profitability and even survival of small businesses. An infringed SME is 34% less likely to survive than an uninfringed SME. And this largely affects the cosmetics sector.
The EUIPO and the OECD have just published a study on the impact of intellectual property crime on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is the first research of its kind focused on small businesses and provides new insights into the impact of counterfeiting and other types of intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements on SMEs.
Innovative companies particularly targeted
This report on the risks of illegal trade in counterfeit goods for small and medium-sized enterprises shows that SMEs whose intellectual property is infringed are 34% less likely to survive beyond five years. The risk is particularly high for independent SMEs that are not part of a large group and for SMEs that are victims of patent infringement.
15% of SMEs with a registered IP right have experienced IPR infringement. This percentage is higher for SMEs that have introduced innovations (19.4% in the case of SMEs that have introduced innovations worldwide). IPR infringement is therefore a particular problem for small businesses that innovate and create jobs and growth.
China main source of counterfeits
The study published today also looks at the countries of origin of counterfeit goods that infringe the intellectual property of small businesses. It confirms that China is by …
