Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
Not to take this any further from the OP's intent, but since we're on the topic...
The Brookings Institute just released a study on patenting and innovation in
American metros; this could be a poxy of sorts for "Top Tech Start Up Centers" in the US:
|
I don't think the amount of "patents" alone makes a city/region a "Top Tech Start-Up Center" and further a patent could have been achieved by a professor of a local university doing simple research and in the process of his/her discovery realizes that the discovery needs to be patented i.e. authenticated. Sometimes a single researcher will apply for multiple patents on one study.
Also, a lot of Detroit's patents, for example, are likely to be in the automotive industry. In Houston, patents are likely driven by innovation in the energy industry. In Minneapolis they are likely medical instruments. In St. Louis, patents are typically in the plant sciences, medicine and pharmaceuticals. Also, many patents are created within companies so many times there is no need to "start up" anything - just innovate off the discovery and patent if warranted.
Many patents are used to develop new products or improvements, yielding profits and licensing fees for the companies, universities or individuals who own them. Sometimes they lead to new local design, engineering or manufacturing operations.
In other words, while patents can be used to measure innovation, patents don't necessarily lead to the creation of an actual start-up although there have been many cases where researchers and companies have launched start-up firms based on certain patents.
I think it is apples and oranges.
In the case of Fox Business News' tech story on St. Louis, its angle alludes to the growing tech and social media start-up scene in the St. Louis city/region. It's based on geeks finding St. Louis an attractive climate to start their tech and social media firms – not patents. Hopefully, however, patent registration will continue to grow in St. Louis.