Now in its seventh year, the annual study analyzes global intellectual property data, including worldwide patent application activity and scientific literature publications, as a leading indicator of innovation across 12 technology areas. This year’s study finds a double-digit year-over-year surge in innovation growth, led by significant increases in the Medical Devices, Home Appliances, Aerospace and Defense, Information Technology, and the Oil & Gas sectors.

The study also tracks global scientific literature publications as a window into the scientific and scholarly research that typically precedes discovery and the protection of innovation rights. Total scientific literature production, in contrast to overall patent volume, has posted a year-over-year decline, suggesting a potential slowdown in future innovation growth

“The last year has been marked by a series of epic breakthroughs: the first autonomous cars tested on public highways, the longest-ever human space mission, the first biosimilar drug approval – all of these were made possible by disrupting conventional boundaries and testing the limits of human creativity,” said Vin Caraher, president, Intellectual Property & Science, Thomson Reuters.

“By consistently benchmarking innovation with concrete metrics on global patent and scientific literature production, we’re able to get a clear outlook on future growth areas.”