The Internationalization of Corporate R&D

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CORPORATE R&DFigure 2-9 Technology balance of payments: payments as percentage of total domestic R&Dexpenditure and business R&D expenditure, 2003.JapanU.S.FranceKoreaFinlandU.K.Germany0 10 20 30 40 5060Percentage of total domestic R&D expendurePercentage of business R&D expenditureSource: MSTI 2005, no data for Sweden.2.3.4 Cross-Border Ownership and Co-Ownership of PatentsForeign ownership of domestic inventions is increasing, according to EPO (EuropeanPatent Office) patent data. On average in OECD countries, 15 percent of all inventionswere owned or co-owned by foreign residents in early 2000, up from 11 percent in1992. Countries like Sweden, Germany and the U.S. show a similar level and trend asthe OECD average.Domestic ownership of inventions made abroad is also increasing. OECD countriesowned about 15 percent of foreign inventions in early 2000. The level is higher insmall, open economies such as Switzerland (48 percent), Ireland (42 percent) and theNetherlands (30 percent). About 28 percent of all inventions owned by residents inSweden were made abroad, a doubling since the early 1990s. Japan and Korea have avery low level of internationalization in terms of cross-border ownership by bothmeasures (OECD Patent Database, OECD 2005c).Patent data have also been used to estimate the degree of international cooperation inscience and technology. A world average of 7 percent of patents was the result of internationalcooperative research in early 2000. There were large differences among countries.In the Slovak Republic and Luxembourg, 53 percent of patent applications to theEPO had foreign co-inventors. The share for Sweden, France, the Netherlands, the U.S.and Germany was between 10 and 20 percent. The level for Japan was only 3 percent(OECD Patent Database, OECD 2005c).71