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Technological innovations key for economic growth: WIPO

Xinhua, November 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

A report published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on Wednesday highlighted the importance of innovation in breakthrough technologies for both national and global economic outlooks.

"Historical technological breakthroughs have been at the root of long-lasting expansions in economic output," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, adding that "successful innovation, at the company level or across the wider economy, requires perseverance, particularly in periods of anaemic growth when innovation budgets are under pressure."

Entitled the World Intellectual Property Report 2015: Breakthrough Innovation and Economic Growth, the study draws parallels between past game-changing advancements such as airplanes, antibiotics and semiconductors with present-day frontier technologies such as 3D printing, nanotechnology and robotics.

Japan and the United States lead a small group of nations which includes Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea that is driving innovation in these domains which have the potential to boost economic growth, the report indicated.

Figures show that this tight-knit group accounts for 75 percent or more of all-time patent filings in the areas of 3D printing, nanotechnology and robotics.

While Japanese companies are leading innovation in the area of robotics, U.S. entities are collectively filling most of the nanotechnology and 3D printing patents.

According to findings, China is the only emerging middle-income country approaching this group of nations in terms of innovation trends and patent applications.

Since 2005, China has accounted for over a quarter of worldwide patents in the fields of 3D printing and robotics, the highest share among all countries.

Concerning nanotechnology, Chinese applicants account for close to 15 percent of global filings, the third largest origin of patents.

The report also indicated that Chinese patent landscapes show a significantly stronger presence of universities and public research organisations (PROs) than in established innovating countries.

This is particularly important as the report documents how innovation is increasingly tied to research at universities and PROs.

The World Intellectual Property Report is published every two years, with each edition focusing on specific trends in an area of intellectual property. Endit