Exercising patents
Apr 24th 2009
From Economist.com
China, India and Turkey make strides in a ranking of the world"s
most innovative countries
DEVELOPED countries occupy the top spots in the Economist
Intelligence Unit"s latest Global Innovation Index (see full report and
methodology). But the biggest gainers are emerging markets: China has
moved from 59th to 54th in the ranking, a gain that was expected to take
five years instead of two; and India and Turkey have also made steady
progress. Their success contrasts with Russia and Brazil, both of which
lost ground during 2004-8.
The index, which measures innovation performance in 82 countries, is based on the number of patents granted to people from different countries by patent offices in the United States, European Union and Japan. It also takes in factors that help and hinder the ability to innovate, such as the amount of research and development undertaken and the technical skills of the country"s workforce.