Innovationpartners

I usually follow the IEEE Spectrum patent strength reports, and this year is no exception. This year the reading is even more interesting than usual. 

 

If innovation is measured in patents the US has a problem. All over the board we see American companies dropping like a sack of stones in the scorecard. As an example Xerox fell from a third place in electronics to a humble 15^th place. This is mirrored across in almost all sectors except in the software, hardware and aerospace areas. As a whole the percentage of U.S. organizations in the scorecards fell from 63% in 2007, to 54% in 2009. 

 

Japan on the other hand is this year’s big winner. In the electronics category they destroy all competition and sits firmly on 7 spots in the top 10, very impressive. 

 

As a small surprise there are now two non US universities among the 20 universities listed Pohang from South Korea and Oxford from UK. And it seems that innovation has shifted in the university sector as Texas, California, Florida and Iowa head the table.