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Trademarks, Product Variety, and Economic Activity in Italy and Europe

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  • Luigi Luini
  • Andrea Mangani

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between trademarks and economic activity. We compare the distribution of product classes across national, EU, and international trademarks deposited by Italian firms. In relation to EU trademarks, we analyze some characteristics of the deposits of major European countries. In particular, we compare "trademark specialization" to export specialization. A trademark is interpreted as a means to differentiate products, thus a greater number of trademarks deposited is associated with a higher degree of product differentiation. Our findings highlight that trademark protection "follows" quite closely the structure of the real economy, with some exceptions. Thus, those economic sectors where countries exhibit economic specialization also present a higher degree of product differentiation.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigi Luini & Andrea Mangani, 2004. "Trademarks, Product Variety, and Economic Activity in Italy and Europe," Department of Economics University of Siena 422, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    • Handle: RePEc:usi:wpaper:422
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    Cited by:

    1. Lampach, Nicolas & Wijtvliet, Wessel & Dyevre, Arthur, 2020. "Merchant hubs and spatial disparities in the private enforcement of international trade regimes," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Ventsislava Nikolova-Minkova, 2022. "The Trademark Application Activity in Bulgaria According to the Nice Classification and Economic Sectors for the Period 2010-2020," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 7, pages 109-141.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trademarks; Intellectual property rights; Specialization; Product variety;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • K13 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Tort Law and Product Liability; Forensic Economics
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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