(Publ. 21 APR 2017) Eight out of ten business executives have reported that trademark infringements are on the rise. Despite this, only one in five is actively keeping watch of their entire trademark portfolio. These numbers come from a study carried out on behalf of CompuMark, where 440 business executives, from six countries – the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, France and Germany, were interviewed.

Infringements against one’s trademark rights pose many risks and may have negative impact on the business according to these executives. In addition to the financial implications of trademark infringements such as loss of revenue (which 26 percent of the respondents have noted), respondents have also identified damage caused to brand reputation (21 percent), customer confusion (21 percent) and reduced customer loyalty and trust (19 percent) as some of the main consequences of infringements.

It is vital to take preventive steps against these risks, and 53 percent of the executives have reported that their businesses have taken legal actions against third parties who have infringed upon their respective trademark. 34 percent also replied that they unfortunately were forced to change the name of the brand because of infringement.

The number of trademarks being filed is increasing continuously and will most likely continue to do so. Two-thirds (66 percent) of the organizations in the survey stated they have plans to launch new trademarks over the next 12 months. As the number of trademark applications that are being filed is increasing, it is also likely that the risk of infringements will increase.

For the full research report click here >

If you would like to know more about our services on trademark watching, please contact Molly Baxi at tel +46 8 729 91 42 or molly.baxi@groth.eu