Promoting intellectual property rights among SMEs

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

In order to make Peruvian businessmen aware of the role and importance of intellectual property, the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) of Peru organized an international virtual workshop for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“A business that accumulates intellectual property protection does not only protect assets such as brands, designs or software applications, it also adds value to the organization and the SME industry as a whole,” said Hania Pérez de Cuéllar, executive president of Indecopi.

99.6% of Peruvian enterprises are SMEs (including micro-enterprises, which employ less than ten persons), and they employ nearly 59.2% of the Economically Active Population (EAP) of Peru, with the rest being employed by large firms, the government or one of the seven other type of sectors. This figure grew by 0.9% between 2017 and 2018, mainly due to micro-firms’ employment, which grew by 1.4% during the period. From the point of view of employment, SMEs are an important engine for Peru’s economy, with around 59.2% of all workforce (total working age population).

“We are trying to reverse the patent pyramid in Peru. Today Peruvian independent inventors patent the most, followed by universities and, ultimately, companies. We need to promote and help SMEs to apply for more patents as that will positively influence the economy through formal jobs, income generation and contribution to GDP, among others,” Pérez de Cuéllar added.

During the workshop, organized by Indecopy in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development, Pérez de Cuéllar mentioned a study released by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It shows that companies which own at least one patent, registered design or trade mark generate on average 20% higher revenues per employee than companies which do not own any of those intellectual property rights (IPRs). Moreover, these IPR-owning companies were found to be paying 19% higher wages on average than other companies.

The study, entitled Intellectual property rights and firm performance in the EU, confirms the strong, positive relationship between a company's ownership of different types of IPRs and its economic performance. In terms of individual IPRs, patent ownership, with 36% higher revenue per employee and 53% higher wages, shows the strongest link with a company's performance when compared with businesses that do not own any IPRs, followed by the ownership of registered designs (at 32% higher revenue and 30% higher wages) and trade marks (21% higher revenue and 17% higher wages).