Intellectual Property Leasing in France - Market Size, Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecasts (2025-2029)

Intellectual Property Leasing in France industry analysis

Revenue is set to grow at a compound annual rate of 13.3% in the five years through 2025 to €4.5 billion. Business confidence took a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the high inflation that stemmed from it, forcing many companies to reduce their research and development investments. As a result, demand for intellectual property, especially for trademarks and branded products, fell, weakening revenue across different intellectual property leasing companies. However, as inflationary pressure has eased, more industries have recognised the cost-effectiveness of leasing intellectual property, which allows them to expand competitively into new sectors like healthcare, electronics and the automotive sector. Patent applications were up 5.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the National Institute of Industrial Property. This has opened up new opportunities for intellectual property leasing companies to help different businesses remain competitive by leasing new innovations and advanced technologies to their advantage. The growing trend in the electronics sector, where companies focus on designing products while outsourcing production and leasing intellectual property, has boosted the industry’s profile as a go-between for sectors reliant on advanced technical designs. Still, despite some positive demand signals, the threat of intellectual property crime remains high. Social media and online sellers have exacerbated the problem and leasing companies have had to invest heavily in strategies to combat IP violations. As a result, revenue is forecast to grow by 1.6% in 2025.  

Trends and Insights

• Europe’s leasing market performs well despite a tough macroeconomic climate. Leasing IP rights allows competitive entry into some industries. European businesses have continued to realise the benefits of leasing patents rather than developing IP, fuelling revenue growth.
• 5G networks boost radio spectrum leasing. The heightened need for wireless communication signals brought about by the rollout of 5G networks is pushing up demand for radio spectrum leasing.
• Market concentration remains low. The industry is highly fragmented, containing a large number of small businesses and owner-operators (including inventors and research scientists) that develop and lease intellectual property.