Serbia’s export economy extends beyond the cars, cables, metals, machinery and agricultural products typically captured in trade statistics, with software, games, animation, engineering designs, trademarks, patents and audiovisual rights generating international revenue without corresponding physical shipments.
These assets form a parallel export base whose value is more difficult to capture through conventional merchandise trade data. Unlike physical goods, intellectual property can be commercialised internationally without being transported across borders. The model has implications for productivity and corporate value. A manufacturing business generally expands through additional machinery, production shifts and physical space, while an intellectual-property business can increase its international sales without a proportional rise in physical capital.
Ownership determines where IP value accrues
The economic value of software code, game franchises, algorithms, patents and other intangible assets can come from repeated use. This creates the potential for higher margins and valuations than those associated with contract manufacturing, provided Serbian companies retain ownership of the intellectual property they develop.
Financing, however, remains poorly aligned with this type of business. Banks generally favour collateral that can be valued and recovered, while intellectual property can be difficult to assess, highly specialised and dependent on the employees who created it. Consequently, many Serbian companies fund expansion through retained earnings or sell their businesses to larger foreign buyers. This creates a risk that Serbia can develop strong capabilities in producing intellectual property without developing equally strong financing mechanisms for companies that own those assets.
Legal and investment infrastructure faces new demands
A broader IP-based economy would require specialised capabilities in law, valuation and investment. Universities would need practical licensing frameworks, while founders would require stronger knowledge of trademarks and international patent strategies.
Investors would also need methods for evaluating recurring digital revenue and product pipelines. Courts and regulators would face the need for predictable treatment of intangible assets, including the legal and financial value assigned to intellectual property. These requirements extend beyond individual companies and into the infrastructure supporting technology and creative businesses. The ability to establish, protect, value, license and finance intangible assets would become increasingly important as more international revenue is generated from assets that are not physically traded.
IP ownership creates a tax and location issue
The international mobility of intellectual property creates another policy consideration. Founders can choose where to hold their IP even when the underlying development work remains in Serbia. If ownership structures are established outside the country, Serbia can still capture employment income and payroll taxes generated by domestic development activity, but the long-term capital value associated with the intellectual property may accrue elsewhere. This places greater importance on where valuable intellectual-property rights are held, rather than relying primarily on headline measures such as the number of startups. Serbia’s emerging IP economy spans technology, gaming, media, design and patents, creating an export base that is only partly visible in conventional trade statistics and requiring financing, legal and regulatory structures suited to intangible assets.
