Trade mark protection is a driver for growth for SMEs
IP Australia recently published its Intellectual Property Rights and Enterprise Growth Report. It sets out the results of a study of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and the role of IP rights. We summarise the key points from the report which reveal that SMEs were more likely to experience high growth in employment and turnover after filing for IP rights.
The Report research was undertaken between 2002 and 2017 and included approximately 600,000 Australian SMEs, and identified high growth SMEs as those that achieved over 20% growth per annum in employment or turnover over three consecutive years.
SMEs that own IP rights are larger
SMEs that own IP rights are 3.5 times larger, have a greater number of employees – seven on average, and pay a higher median wage than SMEs that do not own IP rights.
SMES that own IP rights are more likely to achieve high growth
SMEs that filed for at least one IP right in a year are 8% more likely to experience positive employment growth and 16% more likely to achieve high employment growth relative to SMEs that filed for no IP rights that same year.
Trade marks are key driver of growth
SMEs that own IP rights has doubled from 2% to 4%. This upsurge in the use of trade marks is primarily in the service sector, such as information, media and telecommunications.
IP filing by start-ups indicates future growth potential
SMEs produce 57% of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Newly established SMEs that filed for at least one IP right in their first year were twice as likely to experience high turnover and employment growth.
How FB Rice can assist
The report highlights the importance of trade mark protection to maximise potential growth. Businesses that are aware of the value of trade marks and bring that knowledge to their commercial operations are rewarded by higher growth and income than competitors who do not operate with similar understanding of the value of trade marks.
Searching the availability of trade marks for use and registration, and filing for registration to obtain the statutory rights this provides, can be daunting. However, a trade mark specialist will make this process easy. It is all about getting assistance when you need it (when creating new marks, preparing marketing campaigns or export plans) thereby reducing risks and taking your trade marks to the next level - registration.
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