Innovation up, US leads

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 05 Mar 2007 21:35

ECONOMIC INDICATORS: At this rate, 2017 is going to be a great year

If innovation turns into dollars—and innovation does turn into dollars—then the US is rich and getting richer. But so are our neighbors.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the cornerstone of the international patent system, saw a record 145,300 patent applications filed in 2006, representing a 6.4 percent increase over the previous year.

With just under 50,000 PCT applications, US inventors and industry represented 34.1 percent of all applications in 2006 (a 6.1 percent increase over 2005). Japan maintained its second-place position with 18.5 percent of total applications, an 8.3 percent increase. Germany held third position with 11.7 percent of all 2006 applications, a 5.8 percent increase, followed by the Republic of Korea (4.1 percent of all applications and a 26.6 percent increase) and France (4.1 percent of applications and a 2.8 percent increase). Among the 15 top filing countries, others to achieve double-digit rates of growth were Italy (11th-highest filer, with a rate of growth of 16.1 percent in 2006) and Israel (15th-highest filer, with a growth rate of 18.3 percent).

So the US is number one in sheer number of applications but not in growth. The most remarkable growth rates came from countries in northeast Asia for the third year running and represented over a quarter (25.3 percent) of all international applications under the PCT. In 2006 the list was topped by applications from the US, Japan, Germany, Republic of Korea, and France. The Republic of Korea, with 26.6 percent growth in 2006, overtook the United Kingdom and France to become the 4th-highest country of origin of PCT filings, and applicants from China, whose use grew by 56.8 percent, dislodged Switzerland and Sweden to take the position of 8th-highest country of origin.

Comments on this story

click here to add a comment