International patent applications and innovation in South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Schmoch, Ulrich
dc.contributor.author Pouris, Anastassios
dc.date.accessioned 2022-10-18T07:34:53Z
dc.date.available 2022-10-18T07:34:53Z
dc.date.issued 2021-12-17
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND: Experts recommend support to patents for stimulating innovation. Also, the South African government supports patents, in particular, international patents. In this paper it is examined how this strategy can be designed to successfully trigger economic progress AIM: The present South African activities in patents are investigated in this paper and areas identified where an intensification of patenting looks promising for economic progress SETTING: The patent activities since 1985 are analysed and compared to the annual export-import balance from 2009 to 2018, in order to identify starting points for improving economic structures. The data are linked to current suggestions to the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) for future technologies METHODS: The analysis of patents is performed, using the international patent database PATSTAT, as well as the analysis of the export-import balance at the WITS database of the World Bank RESULTS: The patent analysis reveals a low level of South African domestic patents, with a focus on less complex goods and a stagnation period of 35 years. The data on the export - import balance show negative figures for consumer goods and even more so for capital goods CONCLUSION: Economic progress can be accelerated by stimulating patent and economic activities to produce more complex consumer and capital goods. However, it may be necessary to focus on certain areas at the beginning in order to achieve a sufficient critical mass of competence and international competitiveness. In any case, the support of patents is only successful when it is closely linked to a strategy regarding technology. en_US
dc.description.department Institute for Technological Innovation (ITI) en_US
dc.description.uri https://sajems.org/index.php/sajems en_US
dc.identifier.citation Schmoch, U. & Pouris, A., 2021, ‘International patent applications and innovation in South Africa’, South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 24(1), a4146. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v24i1.4146. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1015-8812 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2222-3436 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.4102/sajems.v24i1.4146
dc.identifier.uri https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/87773
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences en_US
dc.rights © 2021. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. en_US
dc.subject International patents en_US
dc.subject Domestic patents en_US
dc.subject Export-import balance en_US
dc.subject Future technologies en_US
dc.subject Technology focus en_US
dc.subject South Africa (SA) en_US
dc.title International patent applications and innovation in South Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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