TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS IN A SECTORAL
APPROACH
D . Domicián MÁTÉ - D . Ildikó O bán Ms. Tamás Dékán
Uni e si y o Deb ecen, Facul y o Economics and Business Adminis a ion,
Ins i u e o Accoun ing and Finance
The economic oles o he In ellec ual P ope y Righ s (IPRs) a e one o he
key mys e ies o he economic heo ies. A he beginning o he 1760s a
sus ained and apid g ow h in pe capi a income occu ed all o e he wo d
and since hen he b oad his o y o economic ins i u ions has s ill qui e im-
po an . This esea ch pape elies on he concep ual amewo k o IPRs.
Howe e , he academic li e a u e has claimed ha he p esences o hese
ins i u ions a e essen ial elemen s o a well- unc ioning economy, bu in el-
lec ual p ope y has come o mean no only he igh o own and sell, bu
also he igh o egula e i s use. Mo eo e se e al unexploi ed dilemmas
ha e s ill emained in p ac ice. In o de o suppo he heo e ical insigh s we
inspec o o e iew he adema ks g ow h endencies in a ious OECD
coun ies. In his pe spec i e we ollowed a speci ic axonomy o he adi-
ional Nice Classes (NCL) o iden i y he dis ibu ion and he g ow h changes
o hese p ope y igh applica ions in a speci ic sec o al app oach. Besides
de e mining he di e ences wi h some compa a i e s a is ics in he b anch-
es, we could also demons a e he economic impo ance o adema k appli-
can s ha place on he p o ec ion o b ands in he se ice-o ien ed indus-
ies. Howe e , he e was alls in due o he las economic c isis; i seemed
o ollow a pe sis en and subs an ial g ow h pa h again. In his sense, we
could also sugges he be e alo iza ion o IPRs ha mus be conside ed in
a con ex o acili a e SMEs’ access o he bene i s o globalised ma ke s in
hese indus ies.
Keywo ds: p ope y igh s, sec o al app oach, adema ks
JEL Codes: D23, I23, O34
1. In oduc ion o he economic ole o p ope y igh s
One o he essen ial ac s in he his o y o economic g ow h was he Indus-
ial Re olu ion in B i ain. A he beginning o he 1760s a sus ained and
apid g ow h in pe capi a income occu ed all o e he wo d. Al hough Adam
Smi h (1759) was he i s pionee s o analyse how i.e. no ms, belie s and
cul u e e c. a ec his economic pe o mance, he ole o ins i u ions has only
de eloped in ecen decades. Recen ly some ins i u ional economis s, such
as he Nobel-p ize winne Douglas C. No h in 1993, claimed ha “ins i u-
ions ma e ” and since hen he b oad his o y o economic ins i u ions has
s ill qui e impo an (No h, 1990).
The economic oles o he In ellec ual P ope y Righ s (IPRs) a e one o he
key mys e ies o he heo ies. Basically, he inno a ion (R&D) wi hou ans-
2
ac ion cos s migh no be sus ained by in en o s a e hey ha e c ea ed
hei in en ions, unless hey ha e some expec a ion o being able o cap u e
he gains o e icien alloca ion in he o m o p o i (Coase, 1960). Pa en s
and copy igh s a e legal o m o hese mechanisms which “… g an in es o s
monopoly powe in o de o allow hem o ob ain a e u n om hei in en-
ions.” (Jones, 2001:86). These IPRs a emp o use legal sys ems o in lu-
ence he deg ee o excludabili y o ideas. Essen ially, i migh be qui e easy
o someone o “copy” an in en ion wi hou any adema ks and he compe i-
ion a ising om his imi a ion elimina es he incen i e o in es o s o c ea e
new ideas in he i s place.
Howe e , while he mains eam academic li e a u e has ea lie claimed ha
he p esence o IPRs leads o be e economic g ow h and hey a e essen ial
elemen s o well- unc ioning economies, o he s such as Bold in and Le ine
(2002) a gued ha new ideas should be p o ec ed and a ailable o sale.
Hence “in ellec ual p ope y” has come o mean no only he igh o own and
sell, bu also he igh o egula e i s use. In his iew, hese ins i u ions c e-
a e socially ine icien ma ke s and hey migh be be e de ined as “in ellec-
ual monopolies”.
Howe e , ou side hese heo e ical deba es, schola s a e commonly in e -
es ed in examining he impac o hese o mal ins i u ions on economic pe -
o mance. Ne e heless, he e is cu en ly s ill some disag eemen abou
whe he s eng hening adema ks enhances he in e na ional compe i i e-
ness o indus ies. Since now, li le e idences ha e been p esen ed because
o he limi ed measu emen oppo uni ies and empi ical s udies ha e no
been able o e alua e he impac o IPRs on economies, such as ade-
ma ks, copy igh s e c. Gould and G uben (1996) ocused on how he e ec
o adema ks depends on he deg ee o ade openness o di e en coun-
ies; while Gina e and Pa k (1997) emphasized ha pa en igh s could
s imula e ac o accumula ion and di ec ly in luences economic g ow h. In a
ela ed s udy, ocusing on manu ac u ing indus ies in he OECD coun ies,
Pa k (2003) ound ha bo h labou p oduc i i y and R&D expendi u e in-
c eased wi h IPRs. In a la ge sample o coun ies Kanwa and E enson
(2003) claimed ha s onge pa en igh s we e associa ed wi h highe R&D
in ensi y ( he a io o R&D expendi u e o GDP). Hu and Png (2012) demon-
s a ed ha mo e pa en -in ensi e indus ies esponded o s onge pa en
laws wi h highe g ow h, which esul ed in inc eased GDP pe capi a.
The main pu pose o his wo king pape is o suppo he heo e ical insigh s
o he economic ole o IPRs and also o e iew he g ow h endencies o
adema ks in a ious OECD coun ies. In ou es ima ions we ollow a speci -
ic axonomy o iden i y he changes o applican s’ dis ibu ion in di e en
b anches o e he p e ious decades.
2. T adema k applica ions in a sec o al app oach
Acco ding o he de ini ion o he OECD adema k may be egis e ed unde
in ellec ual p ope y legisla ion, such as he Pa en o he T adema k Ac ha
may be applicable. The adema ks may o en become equa ed wi h he
3
p oduc i sel and may be one o he main sou ces o he compe i i e ma ke
ad an ages (OECD, 2015).
Figu e 1: The amoun o adema k applican s in he OECD coun ies, 1990-
2012
Sou ce: own calcula ions based on WIPO (2015)
The o al numbe o classes speci ied in adema k applica ions in he exam-
ined 14 OECD coun ies
1
g ew by 23% om 1990 o 2012. Howe e , in 2000
was he la ges amoun o adema k applican , he s ong g ow h in applica-
ions wo ldwide was s opped. A e he alls in due o he c isis o 2000 and
2007 he adema k applican s seemed o ollow a pe sis en and subs an ial
g ow h pa h again (see Figu e 1.).
Many o ices use he Nice Classi ica ion (NCL) o classi y adema k applica-
ions. This in e na ional o m o classi ica ion o he pu poses o egis e ing
ma ks was es ablished unde he Nice Ag eemen and di ided in o 45 clas-
ses o goods and se ices. The b eakdown o applica ions by class o e s
insigh s in o he ela i e impo ance o adema ks o di e en indus ies.
1
AUR, AUS, DEN, CZE, FIN, GER, ITA, JPY, NED, SLO, SPA, SWE, UK and he
USA.
4
Table 1: The dis ibu ion o adema k applica ions by op 10 Nice Classes,
2012
Rank
Class
Desc ip ion
Sha e(%)
1
35
Ad e ising and business managemen
9.4
2
25
Clo hing
7.0
3
9
Scien i ic, pho og aphic, measu ing ins u-
men s; eco ding equipmen ; compu e s
and so wa e
6.7
4
41
Educa ion, en e ainmen , and spo ing
ac i i ies
5.6
5
5
Pha maceu ical p epa a ions, baby ood,
die a y supplemen s o humans and ani-
mals, disin ec an s, ungicides and he bi-
cides
4.6
6
30
Co ee, ea, cocoa, ice, lou , b ead, pas y
and con ec ione y, suga , honey, yeas ,
sal , mus a d; inega , sauces and spices
4.1
7
42
Scien i ic and echnological se ices, de-
sign and de elopmen o compu e ha d-
wa e and so wa e
4.0
8
3
Bleaching p epa a ions and o he sub-
s ances o laund y use; cleaning and
ab asi e p epa a ions; soaps, pe ume y
and cosme ics
3.5
9
16
Pape , ca dboa d and goods made om
hese ma e ials; p in ed ma e , pho o-
g aphs, a is s' ma e ials, ypew i e s, and
plas ic ma e ials o packaging
3.2
10
43
Se ices o p o iding ood and d ink; em-
po a y accommoda ion
3.0
Remaining classes
48.7
Sou ce: own calcula ions based on WIPO (2015)
The i s 34 o he 45 classes indica e goods and he emaining 11 e e o
se ices and he i s op 10 classes accoun ed o jus o e hal (51.3%) o
all classes speci ied in adema k applica ions (Table 1.). Fou o he op 10
classes ela ed o se ices and he Se ice Class 35 o ad e ising, business
managemen , business adminis a ion, and o ice unc ions e c. has occu-
pied o sha ed he numbe one posi ion since 2004 (Wipo, 2015). The high-
es anked classes o goods we e Class 25 (clo hing, oo wea , and head-
gea e c.) and Class 9 (scien i ic, pho og aphic, measu ing ins umen s, e-
co ding equipmen , compu e s and so wa e e c.).
The esul s o ou analyses ela ing o he NCL classes by indus ies show
ha 11 se ice- ela ed classes accoun ed o sligh ly mo e han one- hi d
(34.2%) o all classes speci ied in applica ions in 2012. This is app oxima ely
5
equal o he se ice class sha e o 2007 (see Figu e 2.), hus demons a ing
he con inuous impo ance o applican s ha place on p o ec ion o b ands in
se ice-o ien ed indus ies.
Table 2: The adema k applica ions by indus ies
Indus y sec o
Sha e (%)
2007
2012
Change
Ag icul u al p oduc s and se ices
14.5
16.0
1.6
Tex iles - Clo hing and Accesso ies
12.9
14.1
1.2
Scien i ic esea ch, In o ma ion echnology,
Communica ions
14.6
13.8
-0.8
Managemen , Communica ions, Real es a e
and Financial Se ices
11.4
11.8
0.4
Pha maceu icals, Heal h, Cosme ics
11.4
11.1
-0.3
Leisu e, Educa ion, T aining
12.3
11.0
-1.3
Cons uc ion, In as uc u e
7.6
6.9
-0.6
Household equipmen
6.3
6.5
0.3
T anspo a ion and Logis ics
6.0
5.6
-0.3
Chemicals
3.1
2.9
-0.2
Sou ce: own calcula ions based on WIPO S a is ics Da abase (2015)
This able also ep esen s he dis ibu ion o adema k applica ions ac oss
a ious indus ies o he OECD economies. No speci ic ca ego ies seem o
mos ly domina e o adema k applica ions. Six o he en g oups each in-
clude mo e han 10 pe cen o he o al sha e o NCL classes, wi h ag icul-
u al p oduc s and se ices accoun ing o he highes sha e (16%) o he
agg ega ed o al as well as he highes pe cen age poin change be ween
2007 and 2012. A e i e yea s han he las inancial c isis o he wo ld
economy he dis ibu ion o adema k applica ions ac oss indus ies has
emained s able be ween 2004 and 2012.
3. Conclusions
Acco ding o he ins i u ional economics he ole o IPRs is one o he ele-
an de e minan s o economies. Al hough ecen ly he e ha e been se ious
heo e ical deba es, no clea consensus has ye eme ged and se e al unan-
swe ed p oblems emained o explain he impac o hese ins i u ions.
The o al numbe o classes speci ied in adema k applica ions in he exam-
ined 14 OECD coun ies inc eased om 1990 o 2012. Howe e , he e was
alls in due o he economic c isis; i seemed o ollow a pe sis en and sub-
s an ial g ow h pa h again.
In his pape we had wo objec i es. The esul s o ou analyses ela ing o
he NCL classes by indus ies demons a ing he con inuous impo ance o
applican s ha place on p o ec ion o b ands in se ice-o ien ed indus ies

6
and he dis ibu ion o adema k applica ions ac oss indus ies has e-
mained s able ill 2012.
As a consequence, he be e alo isa ion o adema ks mus be conside ed
in a global con ex o ease he access o SMEs o knowledge ma ke s. We
can ad ise SMEs o enhance and p o ec he alue o hei in ellec ual as-
se s. The economic bene i s o IPRs a e only gained h ough ac ions ha
en e p ises ake o ensu e adema ks o hei in en ions o good o se -
ices (EC, 2012).
An addi ional esea ch di ec ion has also eme ged in his s udy. We a gue
ha , such as (He czeg, 2009) and (Tó h, 2014) sugges ed, he changing
inancial and accoun ing en i onmen migh impac on he op imal capi al
s uc u e and c i ical o enhance p oduc ion abili y in he compe i i e ma -
ke s. Mo eo e , u he esea ches, in acco dance wi h he g ea ening ole o
he SMEs’ en u e capi al in a sec o al app oach (see Becsky-Nagy–
Fazekas, 2015), could be mo e ui ul.
4. Acknowledgemen
This esea ch was ealized in he ames o TÁMOP 4.2.4. A/2-11-1-2012-
0001 „Na ional Excellence P og am – Elabo a ing and ope a ing an inland
s uden and esea che pe sonal suppo sys em” The p ojec was subsi-
dized by he Eu opean Union and co- inanced by he Eu opean Social
Fund.”
5. Re e ences
Becsky-Nagy, P. – Fazekas, B. (2015): “Speciális kockáza ok és kezelésük
a kockáza i őke- inanszí ozásban”, Veze és udomány, Vol. 46. No. 3. pp.
57–68.
Bold in, M. – Le ine, D. K. (2002): “The Case Agains In ellec ual P ope y”,
Ame ican Economic Re iew, Vol. 92. No. 2. pp. 209–212.
Coase, R. H. (1960). “The P oblem o Social Cos ”, Jou nal o Law and Eco-
nomic, Vol. 3. No. 1. pp. 1–44.
EC (2012): “Towa ds enhanced pa en alo isa ion o g ow h and jobs”,
Commission S a Wo king Documen , No. 458, B ussels, 21.12.2012.
Gina e, J. C. – Pa k, W. G. (1997): “In ellec ual P ope y Righ s and Eco-
nomic G ow h”, Con empo a y Economic Policy, Vol. 15. pp. 51–61.
Gould, D. – G uben, W. (1996): “The Role o In ellec ual P ope y Righ s in
Economic G ow h”, Jou nal o De elopmen Economics, Vol. 48. pp 323–
350.
He czeg, A (2009): “Analyse he Financing S uc u e o Ag icul u al En e -
p ises in 2002-2006”, APSTRACT - Applied S udies in Ag ibusiness and
Comme ce, Vol. 3. No. 5-6, pp. 91–94.
Hu, A. G. Z – Png, I. P. L. (2012): “Pa en Righ s and Economic G ow h:
E idence om C oss-Coun y Panels o Manu ac u ing Indus ies”, 4 h An-
nual Con e ence on Empi ical Legal S udies, No embe 20-21, 2009. pp. 1–
41.
7
Jones, Ch. I. (2001): In oduc ion o Economic G ow h (2nd Edi ion), London,
No on.
Kanwa , S. – E enson, R. (2003): “Does In ellec ual P ope y P o ec ion
Spu Technical Change?” Ox o d Economic Pape s, Vol. 55. No. 2. pp. 235–
264.
No h, D. C. (1990): Ins i u ions, Ins i u ional Change, and Economic Pe o -
mance.
OECD (2015): “Glossa y o S a is ical Te ms”, (las downloaded: 02.04.
2015), h p://s a s.oecd.o g/glossa y/de ail.asp?ID=3323
Camb idge Uni e si y P ess.
Smi h, A. (1759): The Theo y o Mo al Sen imen s. London: A. Milla .
Tó h K. (2014): “The E ec o De i a i e Financial Ins umen s on Bank
Risks, Rele ance and Fai h ul Rep esen a ion: E idence om Banks in
Hunga y”, Annals o he Uni e si y o O adea Economic Science, Vol. 23.
No. 1. pp. 698–706.
WIPO (2015): Wo ld In ellec ual P ope y O ganiza ion’s S a is ics Da a Cen-
e , www.wipo.in /ips a s/ (las downloaded: 02.04. 2015)