Number of registered patent applications - Italy

One of the main output indicators by which we measure the innovative activity of a country is the number of registered patents. These are derived from administrative sources and, thanks to the international patent offices, such as the European Patent Office (European Patent Office, EPO) and U.S. (United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO). Comparable data are available for many countries and long time series. However, the output of innovative activity tends to be underestimated by this type of indicator in countries like Italy, are characterized by small business and a specialization in low technology sectors. In 2007 Italy has presented more than 4,800 EPO patent applications.