Design-intensive industries pay on average 40% more than industries that don’t use IP rights intensively

Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant Oct 6, 2021 (Issuewire.com) – The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is organising the third edition of the prestigious DesignEuropa Awards in Eindhoven to recognise the best of industrial design and innovations protected as Registered Community Designs (RCD).

Over 1.5 million designs have been received by the EUIPO since 2003 when it began managing Registered Community Designs (RCD). The US is the third-largest filer in the world of Registered Community Designs and has an international reputation as a leader in industry and design, and maintains strong ties to the EU as a prolific RCD filer at the EUIPO. 

The DesignEuropa Awards will see eight finalists from seven countries, including one American, compete for the prizes in two categories. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to André Ricard, renowned for his torch design at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Innovative industrial design plays a pivotal role in making carbon-intensive industries more sustainable. John Deere 8 Series tractors, for example, have multiple wheel configurations specifically designed to protect the soil. In recognition of the profound contribution to sustainable farming this design is set to have, it is one of the finalists in the prestigious DesignEuropa Awards organised by the EUIPO. The awards recognise both the products and their designers in the field of industrial design. With eight finalists from seven countries and a wide range of sectors, the best of international design will be represented at the awards ceremony. 

Design-intensive industries contribute 16.2% of the EU’s GDP and create 14.2% of all jobs (30.7 million jobs). Moreover, these industries also pay higher wages (on average 40% higher) than industries that don’t use intellectual property rights intensively. The EUIPO receives approximately 110,000 designs each year, accounting for over 1.5 million designs in total, which showcases the importance of the EU’s single market for design-intensive companies. DesignEuropa is a major European design award acknowledging the industry pioneers who have registered their ideas and products as Registered Community Designs (RCD) at the EUIPO, with three essential ingredients: intellectual property, market impact, and design.

During the ceremony, the special Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to the pioneer André Ricard, one of the most influential industrial designers of our time famed for the design of the Olympic torch of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

 

The Executive Director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau, said:

The DesignEuropa Awards are an important opportunity for us to recognise not only the economic and practical impacts of innovative designs but also their cultural impact. In addition to the eight excellent finalists (in the Industry and Small and Emerging Companies categories), it is a privilege to recognise the many contributions of André Ricard through the Lifetime Achievement Award. His iconic designs have appeared in both the background and foreground of our lives since the 1960s, from perfume bottles to the Olympic torch. This illustrates just how design shapes every part of our lives and serves to inspire new creations from generation to generation.

Germany, the USA, and Italy, three of the countries of origin of the DesignEuropa Awards finalists, have filed the greatest number of Registered Community Designs (RCD) between  2010 and 2020.

 

About the DesignEuropa Awards

The 2021 DesignEuropa Awards are presented in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property. The DesignEuropa Awards ceremony will take place on 19 October 2021 in Eindhoven, coinciding with Dutch Design Week (16-24 October). The DesignEuropa Awards are now in their third edition, following a first Award ceremony in Milan, Italy in 2016, and the second one in Warsaw, Poland in 2018.

 

About the EUIPO

The EUIPO is a decentralised agency of the EU, based in Alicante, Spain. It manages the registration of the European Union trademark (EUTM) and the registered Community design (RCD), both of which provide intellectual property protection in all EU Member States.