WIPO Director General Francis Gurry: "Understanding the evolving geography of innovation matters."
By Zhang Penghui
People's Daily app
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(File photo)

"Innovation has grown increasingly collaborative and transnational, while originating in a few large clusters located in a small number of countries," said Francis Gurry, Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization recently (WIPO).

Recently, he shared his ideas on innovation with People's Daily. Gurry pointed out, "For China, recent years have seen marked progress."

After analyzing millions of patent and scientific publication records across several decades, a new study by the World Intellectual Property Organization has concluded the new trend: innovation originates in a few large clusters located in a small number of countries.

Gurry said the reason behind this was clear. "In recent decades, technology has facilitated new ways of collaborating and sharing knowledge, connecting skilled individuals located far apart and thereby reshaping the world’s economic geography."

The 2019 edition of WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Report also finds another important dimension of the innovation-driven economy of the 21st century: Cities play a pivotal role in the global innovation network. "Companies want to be in urban hotspots, because that is where the most skilled and talented workers live. Well-paying and rewarding jobs, as well as the buzz of city life, attract greater numbers of highly skilled individuals to those hotspots. Innovation also relies crucially on the exchange of ideas among people. Such exchanges usually happen best when people live and work in close proximity to each other."

According to WIPO, some 30 metropolitan hotspots alone accounted for 69 percent of patents and 48 percent of scientific activity during the 2015-2017 period. They are mostly located in five countries – China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America. In addition, Asia accounted for more than two-thirds of all patent, trademark and industrial design applications in 2018, with China driving overall growth in demand for intellectual property rights. Moreover, registrations of copyrighted works increased by 26 percent in China, according to the National Copyright Administration of China.

WIPO sees the dramatic progress of China's innovation in the past decade. China's innovation shares the similar trend.

Gurry said, "In China, innovation agglomerates in a few vibrant metropolitan areas: Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen account for more than half of China’s patents filed internationally in the last decade. Other vibrant, innovation-dense hotspots are Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan and Xi’an. These innovation dense urban cities collaborate largely locally, but they collaborate twice as much internationally than with other Chinese hotspots. San Jose-San Francisco, New York and Tokyo accumulate one quarter of this international collaboration."

"Understanding the evolving geography of innovation matters. " said Gurry, "Governments around the world strive to promote a policy environment conducive to innovation. Doing so requires an understanding of the local dynamics of innovation ecosystems. For example, where can government-funded research best enhance nascent technological capabilities? How can smart city planning encourage opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration?"

"It is my very great pleasure that this report, as well as many other facets of WIPO’s work, contribute to an increased comprehension of the geography of innovation – and ensuring that the benefits of innovation are enjoyed widely across the globe, which is at the core of WIPO’s work." said Gurry.