Chapter 6: Science & Engineering Indicators
Mean International Patent Family Size
When mean international patent family size is calculated for robot technology, France and Great Britain show the highest levels of perceived commercial
value based on this measure. Those robot inventions originating in France and Great Britain for which patent protection has been sought in at least one other
country have a mean patent family size of 8.5 and 7.9 countries, respectively, closely followed by the United States (7.4 countries) and West Germany (6.9 countries). Japan's and South Korea's international
robot patent families tended to be much smaller. (See text table 6-6.)
The United States again shows surprising strength in this indicator, especially in light of the fact that the countries it trails are all located in Western Europe and have many commercial, locational, and historical ties that facilitate
multiple-country patenting. The move toward European unification has also encouraged wider patenting within Europe; however, this influence is probably not yet revealed fully in these data. (Click here for footnote
52.)
Footnote 52:
Since patent applications may take up to 18 months before publication, patenting activity data for the years after 1990 are available but incomplete.
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