Researchers Say EPO/OHIM Study Is A Tale Without A Message

A recent paper published by the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition criticises a joint study by the European patent and trademark offices as lacking insight about the economic effects of intellectual property.

The discussion paper, published in July, comments on a December joint study [pdf] issued by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).

Authors Annette Kur, a senior researcher, and Dietmar Harhoff, an economist and head of the Max Planck Institute, said the report, which underlines the importance of intellectual property in the economy, does not “provide evidence regarding the causal relationship between IP and the economic data.”

The report, which found that 39 percent of GDP of the EU is generated by IPR-intensive industries, has been instrumentalised for political purposes to support claims for more stringent IP enforcement measures, the paper says.

However, it said, the report “cannot reveal whether (or to what degree) IP protection is a factor which as such boosts the economic performance of certain industries or countries.”

The authors remarked that the EPO/OHIM report is close to a study [pdf] undertaken by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, published in March 2012. They also underlined the fact that policymakers are under pressure to base legislation on economic evidence.

“Causal evidence on the effect of IPRs is still rare, and it tends to address specific and sometimes narrow areas of IPR use,” they warned.