| Economics & Statistics Highlights | APRIL 21, 2022 |  | | | | Release of the World Intellectual Property Report 2022
On April 7th, WIPO released the World Intellectual Property Report 2022. The theme of this year’s report is on The Direction of Innovation. This report shows how innovation stakeholders –comprising of policymakers, entrepreneurs, enterprises, researchers and consumers– and events such as wars and global pandemics, play a crucial role in driving technological change, globally and locally. Innovation has grown exponentially over the past century. Technological breakthroughs such as internal combustion engine, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and more recently digital technologies are driving this growth. | | | | |  | This year’s report analyzes why and how these critical technologies develop over time. It recognizes that resources are finite, and that business decisions made may not align with the interest of the society. Such is the case for climate change, where deeper commitments and actions are needed to ensure a sustainable future for all. | | | | |  | By drawing on historical and current case studies, the report illustrates the importance of having a robust innovation ecosystem. It focuses on the system’s ability and capability to leverage scientific capacity, technological capital and skilled labor toward technological change. It also shows how global events can quickly change the trajectory of innovation. Some key findings from the report: - Crises, such as war and pandemic, can change societies’ demand for innovation. The recent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, development of vaccines after WWII or the space program to put astronauts on the moon in just a few decades, are examples of these sudden shifts in the direction of innovation.
- Digitalization is the new big innovation revolution. It is is transforming industries, by changing who innovates, the types and process of innovation.
- Technologies can be leveraged to achieve economic development. China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea are a few countries that have been able to leverage their innovation ecosystems to fully integrate into the global economy as core and active participants in IT global value chains.
- Since the first oil price shock in 1973, global innovation in low-carbon emission technologies has been growing by 6% annually until 2012, and has stagnated thereafter. More is needed to address challenges resulting from climate change.
| | | | About the World Intellectual Property Report
The World Intellectual Property Report, published every two years, offers fresh insights into the role of innovation in market economies and, in doing so, fosters evidence-based policy-making. Each edition focuses on specific trends in an area of intellectual property (IP). | | | |
