37% of Iceland's GDP from IPR-intensive industries

Intellectual property rights-intensive industries (IPR-intensive industries) account for 37.2% of Iceland's GDP and 29.7% of jobs, according to a new report on intellectual property-intensive industries in Europe . In comparison, these sectors represent on average more than 47% of the GDP in the European Union and 29.7% of jobs.

The report is prepared by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) and covers the years 2017-2019. According to the report, companies operating in those sectors of the economy that emphasize the protection of intellectual property rights pay an average of 41% higher wages than other companies. Looking specifically at the sectors where patent registrations are common, salaries are on average 65% higher than in other sectors. Intellectual property-driven industries account for 80% of the EU's exports and about 75% of all trade within the Union.

Looking at comparisons between years, the importance of IPR-intensive industries has generally increased. In the years 2017-2019, it is estimated that these sectors accounted for 29.7% of jobs in Europe, compared to 28.9% in the years 2014-2016.

An intellectual property rights-driven industry is defined in the report as an industry where the number of registered intellectual property rights per employee is above average, be it registered patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights or geographical indications.