Source
Source Contact person/organisation Contact person/organisationDirectorate for Science, Technology and Industry
Economic Analysis & Statistics Division
(sti.contact@oecd.org)
Data updated on March 2016
The indicators presented here are based on fractional counts (see note in Region dimension).
Data source(s) used Data source(s) usedThe OECD's Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry has developed patent data and indicators that are suitable for statistical analysis and that can help addressing S&T policy issues.
To date, the OECD Patent Database fully covers:
- Patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) (from 1978 onwards);
- Patents applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (granted patents from 1976 onwards, patent filings as of 2001 only);
- Patents filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT), at international phase, that designate the EPO (from 1978 onwards);
- Patents that belong to Triadic Patent Families (OECD definition): i.e. sub-set of patents all filed together at the EPO, at the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and at the USPTO, protecting the same set of inventions.
EPO and PCT patent counts are based on data received from the EPO (EPO Bibliographic database, patent published until November 2015). Series on USPTO patents and Triadic patent families are mainly derived from EPO's Worldwide Statistical Patent Database (PATSTAT, Autumn 2015). Regional data are based on OECD, REGPAT database, February 2016.
Indicators based on patent families improve the international comparability and the quality of patent's indicators (overcoming the drawbacks of traditional patent-based indicators, such as the "home advantage").
Ongoing work is undertaken to develop further patent indicators based on patents taken at national offices as well as citations of patents.
Data Characteristics Data Characteristics Variables collected Variables collected3 main sets of indicators are provided in OECD.Stat:
Patent counts by main technology classes (including total patents, estimated total patents for latest years and aggregates for selected technology domains such as ICT, Nanotechnology and Biotechnology):
- EPO, USPTO, PCT and Triadic Patent Families are presented according to the main class of the International Patent Classification (IPC class up to 4 characters).
Patent counts by regions (EPO & PCT):
- EPO and PCT filings are presented according to the region of the inventors/applicants' residence (Territorial Level 3), including total patents and selected technology domains selected technology domains such as ICT, nanotechnology, biotechnology as well as environment or health-related technologies.
Indicators of international co-operation (EPO, USPTO & PCT):
- Cross-border ownership of patents reflects international flows of knowledge from the inventor country to the applicant countries and international flows of funds for research (multinational companies).
- Co-inventions represent the international collaboration in the inventive process.
Reference period Reference periodPatent data are presented according to various dates (all based on calendar years). OECD patent indicators are aimed to provide a measure of the S&T output, therefore, there are usually published according to the priority date, which is the closest to the date of invention. However, there is a time lag between the priority date and the availability of patent information. Data on EPO patents are complete up to priority date 2012, up to 2013 for the patent applications filed under the PCT.
To improve the timeliness of the OECD patent indicators, the latest years are estimated at an aggregated level: "nowcasting" of total EPO by inventor country are provided up to priority year 2013 in the Patents by technology dataset.
Concepts & Classifications Concepts & Classifications Key statistical concept Key statistical conceptPatents are a key measure of innovation output, as patent indicators reflect the inventive performance of countries, regions, technologies, firms, etc. They are also used to track the level of diffusion of knowledge across technology areas, countries, sectors, firms, etc., and the level of internationalisation of innovative activities. Patent indicators can serve to measure the output of R&D, its productivity, structure and the development of a specific technology/industry. Among the few available indicators of technology output, patent indicators are probably the most frequently used. The relationship between patents as an intermediate output resulting from R&D inputs has been investigated extensively. Patents are often interpreted as an output indicator; however, they could also be viewed as an input indicator, as patents are used as a source of information by subsequent inventors.
Like any other indicator, patent indicators have many advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of patent indicators are :
- patents have a close link to invention;
- patents cover a broad range of technologies on which there are sometimes few other sources of data;
- the contents of patent documents are a rich source of information (on the applicant, inventor, technology category, claims, etc.); and
- patent data are readily available from patent offices.
However, patents are subject to certain drawbacks:
- the value distribution of patents is skewed as many patents have no industrial application (and hence are of little value to society) whereas a few are of substantial value;
- many inventions are not patented because they are not patentable or inventors may protect the inventions using other methods, such as secrecy, lead time, etc.;
- the propensity to patent differs across countries and industries;
- differences in patent regulations make it difficult to compare counts across countries; and
- changes in patent law over the years make it difficult to analyse trends over time.
For further details on the methodology applied to patent indicators, please consult the following documentation :
Dissemination format(s) Dissemination format(s)Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry
Economic Analysis & Statistics Division
(sti.contact@oecd.org)
Data updated on March 2016
The indicators presented here are based on fractional counts (see note in Region dimension).
The OECD's Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry has developed patent data and indicators that are suitable for statistical analysis and that can help addressing S&T policy issues.
To date, the OECD Patent Database fully covers:
- Patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) (from 1978 onwards);
- Patents applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (granted patents from 1976 onwards, patent filings as of 2001 only);
- Patents filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT), at international phase, that designate the EPO (from 1978 onwards);
- Patents that belong to Triadic Patent Families (OECD definition): i.e. sub-set of patents all filed together at the EPO, at the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and at the USPTO, protecting the same set of inventions.
EPO and PCT patent counts are based on data received from the EPO (EPO Bibliographic database, patent published until November 2015). Series on USPTO patents and Triadic patent families are mainly derived from EPO's Worldwide Statistical Patent Database (PATSTAT, Autumn 2015). Regional data are based on OECD, REGPAT database, February 2016.
Indicators based on patent families improve the international comparability and the quality of patent's indicators (overcoming the drawbacks of traditional patent-based indicators, such as the "home advantage").
Ongoing work is undertaken to develop further patent indicators based on patents taken at national offices as well as citations of patents.
3 main sets of indicators are provided in OECD.Stat:
Patent counts by main technology classes (including total patents, estimated total patents for latest years and aggregates for selected technology domains such as ICT, Nanotechnology and Biotechnology):
- EPO, USPTO, PCT and Triadic Patent Families are presented according to the main class of the International Patent Classification (IPC class up to 4 characters).
Patent counts by regions (EPO & PCT):
- EPO and PCT filings are presented according to the region of the inventors/applicants' residence (Territorial Level 3), including total patents and selected technology domains selected technology domains such as ICT, nanotechnology, biotechnology as well as environment or health-related technologies.
Indicators of international co-operation (EPO, USPTO & PCT):
- Cross-border ownership of patents reflects international flows of knowledge from the inventor country to the applicant countries and international flows of funds for research (multinational companies).
- Co-inventions represent the international collaboration in the inventive process.
Patent data are presented according to various dates (all based on calendar years). OECD patent indicators are aimed to provide a measure of the S&T output, therefore, there are usually published according to the priority date, which is the closest to the date of invention. However, there is a time lag between the priority date and the availability of patent information. Data on EPO patents are complete up to priority date 2012, up to 2013 for the patent applications filed under the PCT.
To improve the timeliness of the OECD patent indicators, the latest years are estimated at an aggregated level: "nowcasting" of total EPO by inventor country are provided up to priority year 2013 in the Patents by technology dataset.
Patents are a key measure of innovation output, as patent indicators reflect the inventive performance of countries, regions, technologies, firms, etc. They are also used to track the level of diffusion of knowledge across technology areas, countries, sectors, firms, etc., and the level of internationalisation of innovative activities. Patent indicators can serve to measure the output of R&D, its productivity, structure and the development of a specific technology/industry. Among the few available indicators of technology output, patent indicators are probably the most frequently used. The relationship between patents as an intermediate output resulting from R&D inputs has been investigated extensively. Patents are often interpreted as an output indicator; however, they could also be viewed as an input indicator, as patents are used as a source of information by subsequent inventors.
Like any other indicator, patent indicators have many advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of patent indicators are :
- patents have a close link to invention;
- patents cover a broad range of technologies on which there are sometimes few other sources of data;
- the contents of patent documents are a rich source of information (on the applicant, inventor, technology category, claims, etc.); and
- patent data are readily available from patent offices.
However, patents are subject to certain drawbacks:
- the value distribution of patents is skewed as many patents have no industrial application (and hence are of little value to society) whereas a few are of substantial value;
- many inventions are not patented because they are not patentable or inventors may protect the inventions using other methods, such as secrecy, lead time, etc.;
- the propensity to patent differs across countries and industries;
- differences in patent regulations make it difficult to compare counts across countries; and
- changes in patent law over the years make it difficult to analyse trends over time.
For further details on the methodology applied to patent indicators, please consult the following documentation :