Empirical Studies of Trade Marks: The Existing Economic Literature

Abstract

This paper surveys empirical studies employing trade mark data that exist in the economic literature to date. Section 1) documents the use of trade marks by firms in several advanced countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, 2) reviews different attempts to gauge the function of a trade mark as indicator of innovation and product differentiation, and 3) provides an overview of the association of trade marks with dimensions of firm performance and productivity. Sections 4) and 5) give accounts of studies that focus on the social costs and value of trade marks, namely their importance for firm survival, their impact on demand, and firms' incentives to innovate but also to raise rivals' costs. Section 6) covers first endeavours to investigate the interplay between different types of intellectual property rights, while 7) briefly concludes.