Intellectual property law and the Single Market: the way ahead

Abstract

The value of intellectual property as a way for companies to generate income through the licensing, sale, or commercialisation of products or services protected as intellectual property is now well established. At the macro-economic level, the importance of intellectual property is also recognised. As underlined in the 2011 Communication from the European Commission,1 appropriate protection of intellectual property is an essential factor for sustainable and integrative growth in the European Union and for the competitiveness of the European economy. Intellectual property is therefore seen as a key element in order to reach the targets of growth and employment of the Single Market. According to the study carried out in 2013 by the European Patent Office (EPO) and by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), acting through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property rights, IPR-intensive industries2 are shown to have generated almost 26 % of all jobs in the