Front Page	E-mail PagePrint Version

New report also identifies top industry and academic drivers of patent applications

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – 11/05/07 – California ranks high on the list of states that are leaders in innovation as measured by international patent applications, according to a new study on US-based global intellectual property creation.

The study – complied by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri – ranks the state in fourth place behind Delaware, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. The five states that have lagged the most in filing international patent applications are, in reverse order, South Dakota, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Mississippi.

The state rankings are based on the total percentage of international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) per 100,000 workers for the years 1998 and 2006.

Concluded in 1970, the international PCT offers a means for inventors to safeguard their intellectual property in more than 100 countries with a single application.

Because of the higher level of sophistication and the costly and time-intensive application process for PCT patents versus those submitted only to the US Patent and Trademark Office, PCT applications arguably represent some of the most sophisticated inventions originating in this country.

An analysis of these applications, therefore, offers an opportunity to understand where innovation is happening, which organizations are driving innovative change, and the technical areas that are the focus of US filings.

According to the study, while there was significant growth in the number of applications for international patents during the nine-year period, this growth does not appear to have occurred throughout the country.

For example, Oregon, Vermont, and North Dakota saw substantial movement up the ranking while Idaho and Louisiana witnessed a dramatic downward slide in their ranking.

In 1998, the number of patent applications filed per 100,000 workers in an individual state ranged from 1.3 to 55.6, with an average of 14.9.

By 2006, the range grew from 1.3 to 82.1, with an average of 25.1. Delaware had the highest number of patents per worker in 2006, with 82.1 PCT applications per 100,000 workers, followed by Massachusetts and Minnesota.

It is important to note, researchers said, that while Delaware did not produce a very high number of patents in absolute terms, the state's small workforce generated the highest number of patents per 100,000 workers, a measurement used for comparison of competitiveness and innovation across state lines.

Minnesota, a state with a moderate-sized workforce, produced twice the average of patents per 100,000 workers. The strong presence of Minnesota-based 3M Innovative Properties Company and Delaware-based DuPont & Company likely play a significant role in Minnesota and Delaware's leadership in applications per worker.

The study also found that the vast majority of US PCT applications were filed by industry.

In 2006, 92.2% of PCT applications were filed by industry, representing a modest increase from 91.1% in 1998.

California alone contributed almost one quarter of the US PCT applications from industry, followed by New York, Massachusetts, Texas and New Jersey.

3M Innovation Properties, QUALCOMM Inc., Intel Corp., Motorola Inc., and DuPont & Company were among the 25 corporations listed in the study as responsible for the greatest numbers of PCT applications.

Universities and research institutions were responsible for only 8.9% of all PCT applications in 1998 and for 7.8% in 2006.

Again, the states with the greatest number of university applications were California, Massachusetts and New York. Rounding out the top 10 were Texas, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio.

The University of California system contributed more international patent applications than any of the 25 universities listed in the study, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University, with 4.4% and 2.7%, respectively.

Industry and universities appear to seek patent protection in distinct fields of research. While universities have applied for more patents in biological-, testing- and chemical-related categories, the industry filings included more electronic and personal medical care patent applications.

The number of US PCT applications has increased. In the nine-year period from 1998 to 2006, the average percentage of PCT applications per 100,000 workers in the US increased from 14.9% to 25.1%.

While the US share of PCT applications remains greater than that of any other country, overall its share of international PCT applications has decreased from 37.4% to 34.1% in the last four years as other countries have experienced more substantial growth.

"In a global economy in which growth is driven by innovation, global patent applications are just one of many important measures of progress and potential," said Vivek Wadhwa, lead researcher for the study and a fellow with Harvard Law School and executive-in-residence at Duke University.

"States competing for economic and productivity growth in today's economy will focus not only on fostering the innovation that directly precedes patent filings, but also on building the knowledge base of their citizenry and the infrastructure that will support development of entrepreneurial businesses."

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which conducted the study, is a private, non-partisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship and business education in the US. 

Go back, or read the latest Front Page stories:

Obama Should Complete Doha Round, CEOs Say

NEW YORK – 11/20/08 – A number of senior level corporate executives are urging the incoming Obama Administration to complete the long-stalled Doha Round of international trade talks in a new report published by the Wall Street Journal; responding to the report, New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer said that the Obama Administration and ''Democrats in general think we should trade in the global world,'' but concerns about ''income inequality'' should make business and government ''work together to cushion the blow.''