Patents Are Increasing

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Research and technological innovation account for more than two-thirds of per capita economic growth.41 One indicator of the rate of innovation is the number of patents issued.

THE TREND: () After reaching a peak in the mid-1970s, the number of patents issued per year in the United States declined until 1983. Since then, however, patents have increased consistently, almost doubling by 1997 when more than 110,000 patents were issued. Of patents issued in the United States, the share issued to foreign residents has risen from approximately 35 percent in 1975 to 45 percent in 1997. This is a considerably greater share than in Japan, where only 13 percent of all patents are issued to foreigners, but considerably less than in the U.K. (89.2 percent) or Germany (65.2 percent).

THE DATA:

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Index Home | Introduction
SECTION I | SECTION II | SECTION III
Productivity Paradox | Knowledge Economy
Nine Myths | Data Sources | Endnotes | The Authors

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
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