INTA: Industries that invest in trademarks contribute significantly to ASEAN economies

Source: INTA. From left: James Allan, Director, Australia and Asia for Economic Frontier; Etienne Sanz de Acedo, INTA CEO; and Ai Ming Lee, Dentons, Rodyk & Davidson Senior Consultant.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) reports that industries which intensively use trademarks contribute significantly to five major economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Analysis from The Economic Contribution of Trademark-Intensive Industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand report indicates that trademark-intensive activities generate increased employment across sectors and added contributions to international trade. Trademark-intensive industries are defined as those industries which file more trademarks than other industries–weighted against total employment in that industry.

The release of the report coincides with the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN, which has successfully grown to become the world’s seventh-largest market and home to the third-largest labour force over the last half-century. INTA commissioned the report from Frontier Economics, an economics research firm. The study is the first of its kind to analyse the correlation between trademarks and their economic impact on contribution to GDP, share of exports, and employment in major markets of Southeast Asia.

From 2012 to 2015, trademark-intensive industries within Singapore generated a 50% direct contribution to GDP and 55% indirect contribution to GDP, reflecting interdependencies between trademark-intensive and non-trademark intensive industries. Trademark-intensive industries in Singapore comprised 60% of the country’s share of exports, including manufacturing of computers and electronics which contributed 21% of total manufacturing value added. In terms of employment, output, and value-added generated by trademark-intensive industries, workers’ share of the workforce represented 29% of total employment.

“A great brand is key to business success, especially in the digital economy, where there is intense competition for consumer attention. Companies that know how to use the right trademark strategy to protect their brand and grow it globally will have a strong edge over their rivals,” says Daren Tang, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). “More broadly, the findings affirm the importance of IP as a business asset and a driver of Singapore’s future economic growth. IPOS, as an innovation agency, will build the right ecosystem to help businesses identify, protect, and more critically, commercialise their IP in Singapore and beyond into international markets.” 

Source: INTA infographic. Value of trademarks in Singapore.

“From employment to share of exports, this study illustrates the remarkable degree to which trademark-intensive activities positively impact the Singaporean economy,” noted INTA Member Ai Ming Lee, Consultant, Dentons, Rodyk & Davidson, LLP in Singapore. "In Singapore, trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) play a central role in driving economic development, strengthening international trade, and developing Singapore as an IP Hub.”

INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo said the results of the new study “underscore the immense potential for cross-sectoral economic growth that can be unlocked by promoting the value of trademarks with the business community, government, and the general public, and by further developing national trademark systems and trademark-intensive industries. As we explore the long-term economic and social implications of trademarks and related IP rights, it becomes increasingly important for both public and private sectors to scale up engagement on this issue, as well as support government efforts to further trademark and brand development and protection, including protection of goods in transit.”

Building on similar methodologies used by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), findings from the ASEAN report echo emerging analytical trends with regard to trademark-intensive activity. 

Interested?

Download the ASEAN impact report (PDF) 

View the Singapore-focused infographic (PDF)

India boosts intellectual property infrastructure

India's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the extension of strategies to modernise and strengthen intellectual property (IP) offices during the period of the 12th Plan, which runs from 2012 to 2017. The overall project cost would be Rs309.6 crore*, of which Rs258 crore will be spent during 12th Plan and Rs51.6 crore in the 13th Plan.
The move was driven by the growing importance of intellectual property in a globalised economic environment, India’s accession to the Madrid Protocol in April 2013 and the operationalisation of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) as the International Search Authority/International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty from October, 2013.

In the 12th five year plan the focus will be on the enhancement of human resources, upgrading of IT and databases, building construction, improvement of library facilities and awareness building of intellectual property rights.

During the 11th five-year plan, a new complex for IP archives and the TM registry at Ahmedabad were constructed, as was the ISA/IPEA building in New Delhi. An ICT infrastructure was created including a data centre, servers, digitisation of IP records, and e-filing for patents and trademarks.

*10 million.

Asian trademarks in a globalised world

Brands from emerging economies do not have the luxury today of taking decades to establish an international reputation, said panelists during the International Trademark Association's (INTA's) 136th annual meeting, it was reported in a newsletter published by IP Mirror, a domain name registry which also offers cloud hosting services and brand protection.

Source: INTA website.

According to IP Mirror, some of the suggested options for Asian brands focused on global expansion that were discussed at the event in early May in Hong Kong include:

• Adapting localised products for the international market while maintaining trademarks in the new markets.
• Spending more time and money on establishing what the brands represent, as most Asian brand names are likely unheard of, so paying attention to how the mark is presented and what message it invokes is just as important as what name is being registered.
• Buying overseas trademarks to gain access to new channels to market to foreign shoppers, or bringing those brands back home to local consumers seeking established overseas brands. 

"As with any expansion, getting the appropriate localised or regionalised domain names help to secure your online brand in the respective markets," said the company in the newsletter.

INTA separately announced that wage premiums in industries with intensive intellectual property rights (IPR) are significantly higher when compared with other industries: 41% in the European Union* and 42% in the US**.

"Innovation supports millions of jobs worldwide… but only when it is protected by IP rights,” said INTA President Mei-lan Stark (Fox Entertainment Group, US). “Today, the most successful economies, fuelled by the most highly paid workforces, are those in which innovation is encouraged and IP rights are protected.”

INTA coverage on World Intellectual Property Review can be viewed here. New Legal Review did an INTA 2014 roundup here.

*Intellectual property rights intensive industries: contribution to economic performance and employment in the European Union published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office in 2013.

**IP and the US economy – industries in focus published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2012. published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office in 2013.