The demand for IPR services - to use or not to use a professional representative

Abstract

We analysed the use of professional representative services and related outcomes in patent, utility model, design right and trademark filings. We found that 1) there is a positive association between the use of a professional representative and the likelihood of grant or registration; 2) the demand for professional intellectual property rights (IPR) services is heterogeneous between IPR types: applicants are most likely to hire professional representatives (IPR agents and attorneys) for patents, followed by utility models, design rights and trademarks; and 3) individual applicants are less likely to use professional representatives compared to firm applicants.

Key Performance Indicators for Utility Model Systems

“…Heikkilä (2021) [43] reported that Finnish applicants of UM filings are less likely to use professional representatives (patent attorneys) than those applying for patents. However, more systematic empirical evidence is needed for the role of patent attorneys' recommendations on the choice between patents and UMs.…”

“…While we focus here only on the information provided by IP offices, in practice, patent attorneys may play a crucial role in an applicant's choice between a patent and a UM when choosing a strategy to protect a technical invention (cf. [8,9,43]). For instance, Heikkilä and Peltoniemi (2022) [58] described the evolution of the Finnish IPR service sector and patent attorney firms and showed how the use of named representatives in UM filings has decreased over time.…”