Asia led global innovation in 2018, says Clarivate report
Asian countries led the development of patented inventions in 2018, according to a new report.
The “ Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators 2018-19” report, published on Wednesday, January 23, by insights company Clarivate Analytics, identified the world’s most innovative organisations and said that Asia had widened its stronghold in 2018.
According to the report, global innovation continued to shift from the west to east in 2018.
It said Asia leads the top 100 list with 48 companies, including Canon (Japan) and LG Electronics (South Korea). The US follows with 33 companies and Europe with 19.
Some of the world’s largest companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Toyota and Amazon featured on the list.
Clarivate said seven companies appeared on the list for the first time including Cisco and Xiaomi. Of these companies, six of them are based in Asia.
The top 100 list comprises companies that develop patented inventions that have strong commercialisation potential based on originality, market reach, and opportunities for spin-off inventions, Clarivate said.
“The Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators understand that intellectual property is the bridge connecting innovation to economic growth and we are proud to acknowledge their contributions to enriching our future,” said Dan Videtto, president of the Derwent solution at Clarivate.
Clarivate said analysis of the list determined three key trends among last year’s top global innovators.
The first trend is that artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G mobile telecoms are two rapidly growing sectors. Of the top 100 list, 31 companies have AI inventions as major parts of their portfolios, while innovations in 5G totalled over 900 patent families in 2018.
Second, according to Clarivate, the nature of innovation has shifted to focus on higher quality inventions with wider potential markets and greater potential to be leveraged for future development.
Finally, the number of Chinese companies appearing on the list has increased, which may reflect China’s drive to transform its economy from being manufacturing-reliant to knowledge-based.
Bob Stembridge, a patent analyst at Clarivate, said tracking patent activity gives a detailed picture of an organisation’s commitment to innovation.
“This year’s findings show that leading organisations continue to differentiate themselves through a laser focus on high-value and high-impact innovation and a full embrace of emerging technologies,” he added.
The hardware and electronics industries dominated the list, with 35 organisations in these sectors making the top 100. Clarivate said there was also an increase in the number of aerospace and defence organisations on the list in 2018.
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