Effects of the European Union trademark: Lessons for the harmonization of intellectual property systems

Benedikt Herz and Malwina Mejer

Research Policy, 2019, vol. 48, issue 7, 1841-1854

Abstract: We study the impact of the European Union Trademark (EUTM), the first pan-European intellectual property right (IPR) title established in 1996. The EUTM drastically reduced the cost of trademark protection, particularly for firms active in many EU member states. As a consequence, the number of marks and the resources spent on protection increased substantially, indicating that there was a large latent demand for IPR protection. Our results suggest that the fragmentation of the EU IPR system, due to the resulting high cost of IPR protection, is an impediment to market entry and innovation, especially for companies operating in smaller EU member states. Our findings are informative for the governance of IPR protection in the EU as well as for plans to harmonize the IPR environment in other trade blocs.

Keywords: Intellectual property systems; Trademarks; European Union trademark; Community trademark; Madrid system; Unitary protection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O34 O38 O43 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:7:p:1841-1854

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.04.010

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