Silicon Valley Cranks Out Patents Faster Than Any Other U.S. Region
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - A first of its kind study confirms that Silicon Valley leads the nation when it comes to innovation.
The report, released Friday by the Brookings Institution, is based on the number of patents per-employee in regions all over the U.S..
Last year, Silicon Valley produced more than 12 patents per employee, more than twice as many as the number two patent-producing region, Corvallis, Ore.., which produces and average of just over 5 patents per employee.
Rounding out the top ten: Boulder, Colo.; Rochester, Minn.; Santa Cruz County; San Francisco's East Bay; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Austin, Texas; Burlington, Vt.; and San Diego County.
Silicon Valley Continues to Crank Out Patents Faster Than Any Other Region in the U.S.
According to the report, Silicon Valley is also widening its lead over other regions.
"It's really been an extraordinary story of the creation of wealth and new technologies," said Jonathan Rothwell, senior research associate and associate fellow, Brookings Institution.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a majority of the patents were in new technology, everything from computer manufacturing to web hosting to software.
The top patent-producing companies are Apple, Cisco Systems, IBM, HP and Applied Materials.
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