KEY ISSUES FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE G20

ut also to innovation in processes and organisational arrangements. Digital innovations also facilitate cooperation
within and among countries.
Investment in ICT goods and services is an important driver of growth in the long-term, with two-thirds of ICT
investment devoted to computer software and databases. Since 2004, ICT investment has declined in almost
all of the G20 economies for which data are available (Figure 11). This slowdown is in part due to a rapid
decrease in prices, particularly for IT equipment, as well the fact that many firms are now buying IT services
instead through the cloud, which means that at least a proportion of business ICT expenditures are not being
capitalised and included in ICT investment.
%
4
2014 2004
2
0
Source: OECD, Annual National Accounts, May 2016.
Trademarks provide a measure of the relevance of branding in particular product areas, conditional on the
need to protect these brands against counterfeiting. The distribution of ICT-related trademarks offers a
distinctive perspective on the competitive position of economies vis-à-vis digitalisation, especially in terms of
innovation in ICT services. The data show that Korea leads the G20 in registrations of ICT-related trademarks,
with 57% of all of its trademark applications to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and
36% of its trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in ICT-related
areas, and these shares have increased significantly in recent years in Korea, Turkey and China (Figure 12).