Innovation Is The New Machine

Caption|REUTERS/Stefan WermuthAnnouncing the Thomson Reuters 2011 Top 100 Global InnovatorSM program, an initiative that analyzes patent data and related metrics in a proprietary methodology to identify the organizations that lead the world in innovation activity.

“Innovation is a means of growth and prosperity for companies and nations seeking to overcome sluggish economies and achieve competitive advantage,” said David Brown, president of the IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters. “The Thomson Reuters 2011 Top 100 Global InnovatorSM program recognizes those organizations that lead the world in innovation, the protection and commercialization of inventions, and influence on future technologies. We salute these companies and their leaders for the innovative spirit they foster and their commitment to protecting intellectual assets.”

A comparison of market data for the 2011 Top 100 Global InnovatorSM program companies (that report such figures) shows they added more than 400,000 new jobs in 2010 over 2009, three percent more than the prior year and greater than the percentage increase in growth experienced by the S&P 500 for the same period. “The jobs created by the Top 100 Global Innovator organizations are a significant indicator of the impact innovation can have on driving economic growth,” said Mr. Brown. Additionally, the 2011 Top 100 Global Innovator organizations had a 12.9 percent increase in market cap weighted average revenue over the prior year, whereas the S&P 500 market cap weighted average revenue grew by just 7.2 percent.

Thomson Reuters 2011 Top 100 Global InnovatorSM program companies are geographically dispersed. Forty percent of them are from the U.S., 31 percent are from Asia, and 29 percent are from Europe. Asia’s representation is split between Japan and South Korea, with 27 percent from the former and four percent from the latter. Europe’s representation is divided between France (11 percent), Germany (four percent), the Netherlands (four percent), the Principality of Lichtenstein (one percent), Sweden (six percent), and Switzerland (three percent). France is the European leader in innovation. Despite China’s lead in patent application filing volume, it is absent from the top 100 list as global influence and application-to-grant ratios are important aspects of the methodology.

The Thomson Reuters 2011 Top 100 Global InnovatorSM program methodology is based on four principle criteria: patent approval success rate, global reach of patent portfolio, patent influence as measured by citations and overall patent volume. The peer-reviewed methodology was executed using the Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPI), Derwent Patents Citations Index™, Quadrilateral Patent Index™, and Thomson Innovation®, the IP and intelligence collaboration platform. Comparative financial analysis was done using the Thomson Reuters Eikon platform, the single source for turning financial information into action.

Related Information

View the full report.