Global Innovation Trends Revealed in Latest Report

Despite increasing patent volume worldwide, global innovation activity is slowing down, according to a report unveiled recently by the intellectual property and science department of Thomson Reuters, a leading business information provider.

The report, titled The Future Is Open: 2015 State of Innovation, examined global research and patent activities. The top three industries showing the largest growth in patents were food, beverages and tobacco, increasing 21%; pharmaceuticals, up 12%; and cosmetics and well-being, growing 8%.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences topped the list of patent filers in the pharmaceuticals business, and ranked second in the list for the biotechnology sector. Chinese petrochemical giants Sinopec and PetroChina took the top two spots in the list of patent filers in the oil and gas industry. China National Offshore Oil Corp also made it to the top five of the same list.

Samsung was noted as a good example toward "open innovation" and “top patent assignee”. The company often partner with academic institutions, individual researchers and other companies; and ranked among the top 25 patent assignees in nine of the 12 industries analyzed in the study.

(Source: SIPO)