Patent Creation and U.S. Inventiveness

In the midst of a weak recovery from a particularly severe recession, many people are wondering whether the United States is in a state of decline, lacking the dynamism it once had. In terms of inventiveness such as patent creation the U.S. still ranks high. In other measures not so much.

Some argue that U.S. inventive output is flagging in the face of other related challenges, including global competition, increasing technological complexity, and weak public sector support relative to other countries. In a Brookings Institution report authored by Jonathan Rothwell, José Lobo, Deborah Strumsky, and Mark Muro, the United States still ranks very high globally on a number of important measures of innovative capacity, though other developed countries have caught up or overtaken it.

One study rates the United States fourth in the world in terms of innovative capacity but notes that it ranks near the bottom on changes over the previous ten years in the underlying variables. The authors say that when using internationally-oriented patent applications filed from 2000 to 2010 per resident, the United States ranks somewhat lower at ninth, and it is just 13th on science and engineering publications per capita.

More positively, the United States ranks third on GDP per worker, behind only Luxembourg and oil-rich Norway. On R&D spending per capita, it ranks second, behind only Finland. Finally, according to the Leiden Ranking (from Leiden University in the Netherlands), all ten of the world’s top research universities are in the United States and 43 of the top 50, led by MIT, Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford. All of these factors play a role in American innovation.

The focus of the Brookings report is on inventive activity, which yields enormous benefits to society that go well beyond the gains from inventors and producers. One measure of inventive activity—the number of patents granted per person—has been increasing in the U. S., alongside research and development. The Brookings authors add that some scholars have even suggested that too many patents have been granted and attribute an increase to the declining rigor of approval standards. Yet, there is a large body of compelling evidence showing that most patents do actually represent valuable inventions, especially “high quality” patents—meaning those that are highly cited or those that advance more intellectual property claims.

Despite wide variation in value, economists have calculated that the average patent is worth over half a million dollars in direct market value (and considerably more in social value as the technology and its ideas become diffused). These estimates are consistent with recent patent sales reported in the media from Eastman Kodak, Motorola, Nortel, and Nokia, which have ranged $477,000 to $760,000 per patent, and even single patents from relatively unknown companies list patent prices at an online website for $1 million.

In any case, there is evidence that patent value is increasing. One indication is that scientific and technical research is increasingly collaborative in the United States and globally, and this appears to be leading to more valuable patents and publications. Another is that corporate income from manufacturing sector royalties—which come largely from the licensing of patents—increased by 89 percent from 1994 to 2009, almost double the growth rate of patents granted to domestic inventors.

Read: https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9236448/U.S._inventiveness_at_highest_point_since_Industrial_Revolution

Read: https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0313/13072.html


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.