A recent survey of Fortune 500 companies in the United States estimated that anywhere from 45 % to 75 % of their turn-over comes from the exploit of their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and experts believe between 70 % and 90 % of the market value of Fortune 500 companies is directly linked to the existence of these.
The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (EU) has in a business report from June 2015 documented that companies which own intellectual property rights, on average have a 29 % higher revenue per employee than companies that do not. The report also shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have nearly 32 % higher earnings per employee than companies without IP rights. This shows that it is at least as profitable for SMEs to invest in IPR, as it is for larger companies, and that the benefits of owning IPR are vast.
The figures from both the US and EU underscore that there is an increasingly close relationship between a high level of protection of a company’s IP rights and its ability to make a profit and create value for its owners. In a globalized world where goods and services are produced and sold across national borders to an extent that no one had thought possible, and where the Internet has revolutionized the way we do business, it has become increasingly easier and cheaper to copy inventions and products. The importance of securing IP rights and enforcement of these rights is not only the multinational companies’ concern. It applies to all businesses – large and small – regardless of industry or sector.
A strategy for a high protection of a company’s IP rights is necessary to remain innovative and competitive. It is expensive to develop new products or produce new inventions, but it is devastating if other companies can copy them, because a company has failed to secure IP rights in all relevant markets.
Therefore, it is crucial that companies from the very beginning of the product development are thinking in IP rights and how to protect the company’s future revenue base in the best possible way. Any company that wish to maintain the continued confidence from investors and banks must therefore be familiar with the rules on copyright, trademarks, designs, patents, as well as the general marketing laws, to ensure a strong protection against piracy, but also to prevent unintentionally to violate the rights of others. This may trigger law suits and an injunction to stop the manufacture of the products in question.
With the recent arrival of attorney-at-law Lars Halgreen who joined Magnusson in Denmark as a partner and a close cooperation with the patent agency Nordic Patent Service (like Magnusson, located at Bredgade 30 in Copenhagen), Magnusson offers its clients much stronger advice in relation to the protection of IP rights and the establishment of an IP strategy that continually ensures that the rights to our clients’ core business can be secured and enforced.
The developments in Denmark correspond with Magnusson’s continued growth in the area if IP on other markets. In Sweden, the practice is growing with partner Dag Wetterberg at the helm, while in Poland senior associate Dariusz Piróg focuses on further boosting the firm’s competences in IP. Magnusson is on a regular basis represented at major industry events, such as INTA Annual Conference or AIPPI World Congress.
For an informal discussion regarding your company’s IP rights please contact attorney-at-law Lars Halgreen on [email protected] or telephone +45 51 57 30 83