Global innovation slowed in 2016, report claims
The pace of global innovation slowed last year, as the volume of patented inventions from China dipped.
This is one of the findings of research company Clarivate Analytics in its latest report, “ State of Innovation”, released today.
Compared to 2015’s global volume of patented inventions increasing by 14%, growth in 2016 was only 8%, said the report.
Average growth for the five-year period of 2011 to 2015 was 12%.
“This dip … is largely due to a slowdown in patented inventions from China, which in turn may be attributed to slowing investment in research and development in that country,” said Jay Nadler, CEO of Clarivate.
China now accounts for over six of every ten patented inventions worldwide. The country experienced a drop in patenting activity with 9% year-on-year growth last year, compared with 25% growth in the year before.
The report covers 12 different industries and focuses on inventions and research trends in each, with the data being compiled from analysis of more than 18,000 scientific and scholarly journals, 71 million global patents and proceedings papers, book chapters and other materials.
The food, beverage and tobacco industry posted strong growth of 39% in 2016, with an increase of around 10,000 inventions. The top ten most active innovators in this category are all from China, except Philip Morris in the US.
According to the report, the largest patent growth was in the area of brewing, in which the number of inventions doubled in 2016, compared to the previous year.
“With the relaxation of the one child policy, China’s 1.4 billion headcount is likely to increase still further, and ways to feed this growing population will be needed in the future,” said the report.
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