PATENT COUNTS NOT A TRUE INDICATOR OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF INNOVATION
by Xuan Li
Inter Press Service
Innovation in the global marketplace is the very heartbeat of knowledge-based economies, and to solve the current financial crisis what is needed is more of it, writes writes Xuan Li, Coordinator at the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, South Centre.
In this analysis, the author writes that although patent statistics are one indication of innovation performance, they are far from an accurate measure, especially in the context of the rise in patent filings in developing countries. Accordingly, any cross-country comparison must take note of the differences in the design of patent systems.
For instance, a tally of resident patents in China includes patents filed by foreigners. A patent filed by LG Electronics China Branch is counted as a Chinese domestic patent yet the same patent may also be registered in several other countries. This makes patent counts highly suspect as a basis for a geographic assessment of innovation because it combines indigenous and foreign patents, which can lead to a significant bloating of a nation's rank as an innovator.
(*) Xuan Li is Coordinator at the Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, South Centre. ([email protected])
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