I4F Releases Global Flooring Industry Survey Results

Innovations4Flooring (I4F) has released the main findings of its Global Flooring Industry Pulse Survey.

"The most significant revelation was that 76% of global players surveyed do not believe the current patent industry enables continued growth in the flooring industry," said an I4F representative.

Overall, the lack of transparency on what current patent fees actually cover emerged as a key concern with only a third of responders fully understanding which patents they are paying for. Industry players also felt more focus is required on consumer needs in terms of ease of installation, facilitating new product development and design opportunities.

Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed were at chairman, CEO and managing director level, covering all types of flooring manufacturing worldwide and representing over 60% of the global hard flooring market, according to the company.

“As a flooring innovations company, we feel strongly about understanding how technology and license fees impact the market," said John Rietveldt, I4F's CEO. "This global pulse survey was designed to understand what leaders and key influencers in the global flooring industry are looking for technology wise, and also to find out whether today’s fee structure is transparent enough for them to reach their financial targets. Responses demonstrate that the industry fully respects the need for IP and patent fees but feel that there is a long way to go in terms of improving the current situation. License fees are not in line with product costs which is placing too much pressure on manufacturers’ profitability and so hindering their ability to allocate sufficient funding to new innovation.”

For more information, visit innovations4flooring.com.

KEYWORDS: flooring industry news