EUIPO report: An average company spends 115k EUR annually on IP enforcement

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), acting through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights has published a report on "private costs of enforcement of IPR", analysing the impact of counterfeiting and piracy by quantifying the costs borne by companies in dealing with IP infringement.

The study is based on a survey of 1,291 companies in 14 EU Member States, which provided a detailed picture of the resources used to detect and combat infringements by both small and large companies.

According to the findings of the study, an average company spends 115,317 EUR per year on enforcement-related activities. Not surprisingly, this amount varies depending on the size of the companies. The report reveals that while for the small companies (having fewer than 50 employees), the average expenditure on IP enforcement is 83,653 EUR per year, for medium-sized companies (with 50-250 employees), the outlay increases to 103,166 EUR. Finally, in the case of large companies, those with more than 250 employees, the IP enforcement costs amount to 159,132 EUR per year.