IP Key LA and Indecopi present the first economic impact study in Peru

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

IP Key Latin America (IP Key LA), the Delegation of the European Union in Peru and the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) of Peru presented the first study on the economic contribution of industrial property in Latin America. The study, called The Economic Contribution of Industrial Property in Peru, focuses on the Peruvian economy and is the result of extensive and detailed research, lead by economists Italo Muñoz and Victor Revilla.

The study highlights the importance that IP-intensive industries have in Peru’s economy, in four different areas: contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), direct and indirect employment, average remuneration, and participation in international trade. This research considers four types of intellectual property (IP) rights: patents, utility models, industrial designs, and trade marks.

The Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Peru, Diego Mellado, IP Key LA’s project leader, Pedro Duarte, and the Executive President of Indecopi, Hania Pérez de Cuéllar, highlighted the role that international cooperation plays, not only in strengthening IP protection, but in the production of documents such as this, which provides evidence of the impact that IP has on the national economy.

IP-intensive companies offered remunerations 32% higher than the average, between 2015-2018. The contribution to GDP per worker, meanwhile, was 66% higher than average.

These figures only represent a fraction of all the advantages that IP protection brings in different productive sectors, according to Pedro Duarte. "This may be just the first of several studies that help understand the most positive aspects of intellectual property, and also the negative consequences that infringements generate in the local economy," Duarte said.

Directed by the European Commission and implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), IP Key Latin America supports increased IP protection and enforcement across Latin America. Through its activities, IP Key Latin America aims to support international firms, especially EU enterprises, doing business in the region.