International licensing revisited: the role of copyright and trademark enforcement strength

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the instrumental role that copyright and trademark enforcement strength plays in stimulating licensing flows in 21 countries.

Design/methodology/approach

In so doing, panel data methodology serves as the empirical platform upon which the investigation between the trademark and copyright enforcement strength levels of 21 countries and the choice between unaffiliated and affiliated licensing of US firms for the period 1998-2011 is conducted.

Findings

The evidence suggests that both copyright and trademark enforcement strength have a highly significant effect on licensing and, more specifically, that stronger levels of enforcement stimulate higher levels of unaffiliated licensing.

Originality/value

The authors use the two longitudinal indices of copyright and trademark enforcement strength which capture the effectiveness and efficiency with which copyrights and trademarks are enforced in 21 countries.

Citation

Papageorgiadis, N., Alexiou, C. and Nellis, J.G. (2016), "International licensing revisited: the role of copyright and trademark enforcement strength", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 261-275. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-03-2015-0014