Well, many of you may have been surprised to learn that the number of new patents in medical technology has been declining for years. I was. But now we learn, thanks to WIPO, that the same is true for environmental technology. Every year the decline has been 1.1%. If we actually do need to save the world, you'd think it would be growing. In the sexiest areas of technology, new patents can grow by 5% per year or even more.
So, with all the hype about how alternative technology is needed to replace fossil fuels, which country is actually doing the most work about making alternative technology a reality? For solar, it's Japan, head and shoulders above the crowd--between 2001 and 2005, Japanese companies filed over 9,000 patents for solar energy technology. Second place, with only 2000 patents, went to South Korea.
Japan's lead is even greater in fuel cell technology patents--over 12,000 patents in the same time frame. The U.S. was second--with 2,900 patents.
For wind power, the leader is... Germany! in the 5-year span, they generated 1,383 patents, narrowly edging out--Japan, with 1,336.
So who is serious about alternative energy technologies?
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