EUIPO
EUIPO puts Alicante on map The EU's highest-staffed agency is based in Alicante. What benefits does hosting the intellectual property office bring to the city and the region? y raia aia 28 — REGIONS & CITIES OCTOBER 2017
Five kilometres north of Alicante airport in Spain is the EU's Intellectual Property Along the coastline, the EUIPO building offers a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea. Presently, there are roadworks which make for stop- city. But once completed, a new bicycle lane will be in place, connecting Alicante and the EU agency. EUIPO, currently the largest EU agency in terms of staff (913), is responsible for trademark and design registrations in the EU. It issues titles, which are applications for trademarks that have been registered and accepted, that are valid in all EU countries, a market of more than 500 million consumers - at least until the UK leaves. The EUIPO building has an imposing facade of glass and concrete, but on the inside it is bright and full of open space. The exterior hosts plenty of green areas, and the view is only disrupted by the which is set to accommodate the learning centre and the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights by October 2017. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FOOTPRINT Antonio Campinos, the executive director of EUIPO, once stated that 42 percent of the economic activity and a third of all jobs in Europe depend on companies that make extensive use of industrial and intellectual property rights. But what is the socio-economic footprint left by the agency itself in the Spanish region where it is based? €376 million. Photo: Leaie REGIONS & CITIES OCTOBER 2017— 29
