Trademarks and patents improve startups’ ability to obtain funding

EUIPO and EPO jointly released research findings that intellectual property rights are an important factor in the success of new European startups. The study found that startups that applied for trademarks and patents during the initial seed round, or before the early growth stage, were 10.2 times more likely to successfully obtain funding than the average company.

On average, 29% of EU startups have applied for relevant intellectual property rights. Among them, biotechnology companies are the main industry, and 65% of them have applied for patents or registered trademarks. Other industries, such as the science and engineering industry, have 25% of patent applicants and 38% of trademark applicants. The medical device industry has 20% of patent applicants and 40% of trademark users. In the field of machinery manufacturing, there are 20%. % of patent applicants and 36% of trademark users.

country area

• There are significant differences in the use of intellectual property rights in different EU countries. Up to 42% of new startups in Finland and France have applied for intellectual property rights, accounting for the highest proportion among EU countries, followed by Germany 40%, Austria 40%, and Italy 39 %, Norway 37%, Sweden 34%, Denmark 34%, Switzerland 32%, and the Czech Republic 31%. Companies in these countries are also most likely to file trademark and patent applications. New startups in Austria, Switzerland, France and Nordic countries are even more likely to bundle trademark and application rights together.

The Importance of Intangible Assets for New Startups

• Startups with European patents and EU trademark rights are highly advantaged, with access to funding at an early stage five times higher than those with national intellectual property rights. Companies with EU trademarks are 6.1 times more likely to receive funding, and companies with European patents are 5.3 times more likely to receive funding.

Biotechnology is the most intellectual property-intensive industry

• Biotechnology is the most patent- and trademark-intensive field, with more than half of European biotechnology start-ups applying for 1-2 intellectual property rights. Among them, 48% of companies have applied for patents, 47% of companies have applied for trademarks, and 31% have both patents and trademarks, making it the technical field with the highest proportion.
• The industry with the second highest rate of intellectual property rights owned by new startups is science and engineering, accounting for about 16%. Among them, 38% of new companies in this industry have applied for trademarks, and 25% of companies have applied for patents.
• In the seed round stage, 10% of new startups applied for patents, and the application rate increased to 28% of new startups in the early growth stage, and to 44% in the later stages. The use of trademarks is similar, 28% in the seed round and can rise to 72% in the later stages.