Few topics in the life sciences today provoke as much debate as the availability of patent protection on "genetic … inventions". Some hold that protection is essential to encourage innovation and development of new products. Others argue that … patents restrict access to the very innovations they are intended to promote. Yet others object to property rights at all for …

Few systematic economic evaluations have been carried out on patent system to better inform policy choices. This report …

innovation. The case studies cover abatement technologies for wastewater effluent from pulp production, abatement of motor … vehicle emissions, and development of renewable energy technologies. On the basis of patent data, the nature, extent, and … causes of innovation in each of these areas have been explored. While a particular focus has been placed on the role of …

technological activity. The Patents Manual, issued in 1994, provides information on how patent data can be used as indicators, and …Analysts and policy makers have made increasing use of patent indicators to analyse the rate and direction of …

This 2009 edition of the OECD Patent Statistics Manual takes stock of the recent developments in the field. It provides … guiding principles for the use of patent data in the context of S&T measurement, and recommendations for the compilation and … interpretation of patent indicators in this context. It aims to show what patent statistics can and cannot be used for, and how to …