RESEARCH IN ITALY - Ice

Figure 2 :Regional Distribution of Patents filed at the EPO(data are normalized on 1 million inhabitants)Technology Balance of PaymentsThe technological balance of payments measures international transfers of technology, such as: patents;inventions; license fees; purchases and royalties paid; trademarks; know-how; patterns and designs; andservices with technological content, like technical assistance, engineering, training of personnel, R&Dservices and technology exchange. Unlike R&D expenditure, these are payments for production-readytechnologies.The outbound flow indicates a certain country’s ability to commercialize its technological competencesand know-how in the international market, while the inbound flow indicates the ability to use and integrateforeign technologies in its system. In the last years, Italy showed an increase in both the inboundand outbound flows and the balance has a positive value in Italy, likewise in almost all Europeancountries.Italian Trade Commission - New York20098