Prefaced with a foreword from the Honourable Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science, the report analyses trends in technology, commercialisation and trade, using the latest IP statistics. Previewing new research from the Reserve Bank of Australia, this year’s IP report offers insights into how the changing economy impacts innovation, R&D spend, and new technology adoption. It explores the IP system’s role in supporting Australians through creation of high paying jobs, harnessing workforce diversity, and fostering economic growth.
Insights show that on average, businesses that register IP rights are more productive than other businesses – up to 30% higher productivity with a patent or design right. Each additional trade mark filed is linked to an 8% increase in revenue per employee, and small and medium Australian organisations holding a patent tend to pay an 11% premium to their employees, and have higher levels of employee retention.
Australia’s IP holding businesses account for around 35% of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employ 2.6 million Australian workers, invest more than $6.4 billion in research and development (R&D) each year and account for 51% of Australia’s total exports.
In 2022, standard patent filings in Australia were close to the record level set in 2021. Patenting in healthcare continued to grow, as did new IP for digital equipment, components, and services. Plant breeder right applications increased by 1.3%, however, trade mark and design applications fell by 11% and 4% from their record levels in 2021. Trade mark filings react quickly to changes in expected demand and tend to anticipate the business cycle, providing valuable data for economic monitoring and forecasting.
Today also marks World IP Day, with the theme ‘Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity.’ The 2023 IP report highlights the importance of workforce diversity in innovation performance, showing that not only do mixed-gender research teams generate more novel and radical innovations, but where there are more women in leadership roles there is a link to greater efficiency in converting R&D investment into patents.
Key insights
- On average, businesses that register IP rights are more productive than other businesses - with a patent or design right, they have 30% higher productivity.
- Each additional trade mark a business files is linked to an 8% increase in revenue per employee.
- Businesses with design rights have improved their productivity at 6 times the rate of those without.
- Small and medium Australian organisations holding a patent tend to pay an 11% premium to their employees and have higher levels of employee retention.
- Patents are linked to higher retention, which increases businesses’ incentives to invest in employees’ skills and training.
- Economic downturns tend to reduce national R&D spend, new trade mark applications and small business technology adoption, but the impact on patenting is limited.
- Mixed – gender research teams generate more novel and radical innovations.
- More women in leadership roles is linked to greater efficiency converting R&D investment into patents.
The report was developed using data on 14.5 million Australian workers and their employers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), data from the Intellectual Property Government Open Dataset (IPGOD) product and previewed research from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Read the 2023 report
The Office of the Chief Economist welcome your comments, suggestions and questions, and can arrange a deep dive on the report findings relevant to you.