Patent trends – the state of global innovation

The Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters has released its annual analysis of global patent trends.  The State of Innovation report tracks patent activity across 12 key technology areas.

Key findings include:

·         Computers and peripherals had the largest volume of activity in the whole of the technology sector.  There were 232,000+ filings in 2012.  Scanners declined by 34%
·         Medical devices saw a 15.7% increase in patent activity. 
·         ‘Tobacco-related innovation’ increased by 58%
·         ‘Sugar related inventions’ increased by 56%

The full report can be found here.