Effectiveness of Intellectual Property Rights and innovation with digital technologies

The competitiveness of companies depends more than ever on technological progress and innovative ideas. The correct design and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in this respect is of crucial importance. The emergence of digital markets and global competition have recently put IPRs under increasing pressure. We are conducting studies on the use and role of IPRs in the contemporary economies, with a focus on digital markets. One recent project investigated the commercial and financial implications of counterfeit circulation for digital technology companies. It looked at the economic and innovative performance of digital technology companies at the firm-level and on the global scale. To address the problem, a new database was created combining data on counterfeiting activities during from the EUIPO-OECD with financial information and patent data. The results indicate lower growth rates of operating profits (EBITDA and EBIT) of digital technology companies targeted by counterfeiting with respect to control samples of firms not affected by counterfeiting.