Export Specialization and Product Differentiation

We analyze the characteristics of Community trademarks deposited by some major European countries. In particular, we compare “trademark specialization” to export specialization. A trademark is interpreted as a means to differentiate products, thus a greater number of trademarks deposited is associated with a higher degree of product differentiation. Our findings highlight that trademark protection “follows” quite closely the structure of exports, with some exceptions. Thus, those economic sectors where countries exhibit economic specialization also present a higher degree of product differentiation, as it is predicted by a combined interpretation of distinct theoretical approaches.