The role of technology and relatedness in regional trademark activity

This paper provides insights into trademark activity at the regional level via two objectives. First, it examines the relationship between technological capabilities and new trademark applications. Second, it considers whether regions branch out to new trademark specializations that are related to their existing specializations. The paper employs European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) data to study 218 European NUTS-2 regions (16 countries) over the period 2000–16. Results show that increased technological stock is associated with more trademark applications and that existing trademark relatedness induces new specializations. These findings contribute to a better understanding of trademark activity and policies related to regional diversification including Smart Specialisation.