This week for the “Patents world” section we present a very interesting video developed by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) for the 2011 Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard, to understand how innovation is evolving around the world.
One way to measure technological innovation is by tracking the number of patents, and the video shows the way OECD used to measure patent quality: it compares patents recounted by the EPO over the past decade with those of the 1990-2000 period.
The result is that patent quality has declined of an average of 20%, and in no countries major economies such as Great Britain, France or USA has improved.
The study conducted by the OECD of patent quality in different technology sectors, allows to identify leaders in particular technological fields, for example: South Korea has a competitive advantage in ICT related innovations.
The video also shows that:
- The EU is leading in clean energy technology, representing around 40% of all filings by the late 2000, followed by the US and Japan.
- Thinking about the link existing between investments in R&D and patents in general, we have to keep in mind that, regarding patents, “quantity” is not as good as “quality”.
