Why America is Losing Its Innovative Edge

As the world economy entered its worst decline since the Great Depression, corporations were less interested in  innovating.   Now, as the economy begins to recovers  U.S. corporations are in danger of being eclipsed by their Chinese rivals.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the total number of patent applications  filed across the world grew by 2.6% in 2007. This is the lowest growth rate since the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000 .   To make matters worse, the data, the latest available,  showed zero growth in the U.S.   China, however, showed a gain of 18.2%.  Preliminary 2009 data showed a drop in filings at the major patent offices of 2.9%, WIPO says.  China, again, was the exception, showing a growth of 8.5% in applications.

Total trademark applications declined by 0.9% in 2008 – the first decrease since 2001. The drop in demand for trademarks is largely due to decreases in the number of applications from major countries.  American applications fell 11.7% while they soared by 20.8 percent in China.