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Week of March 10 - 16, 2008 |
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Late last month, the World Intellectual
Property Association (WIPO) announced that international patents filed
under the international WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty reached a record
high of 156,100 in 2007. The record total represents a slight increase
(4.7%) from 2006. US inventors and companies filed the most patent
applications, accounting for 33.5% of total applications. Northeast
Asia—especially Korea---was the fastest growing region in terms of new
patent applications. Overall, the region accounts for 24.8% of
applications. Telecommunications, information technology, and
pharmaceuticals were the three largest sectors for patent applications.
While the US topped the list in raw numbers of applications, US firms
were not the most aggressive in 2007. Matsushita, Philips, and Siemens
accounted for the highest numbers of corporate patent applications. WIPO
also announced that trademark applications also hit a record high in
2007. Last year’s 39,945 trademark applications represented an increase
of 9.5 percent from the previous year. |
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Top Ten Federal Rules for Regulatory Review Each year, the US
Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy solicits a list of
Federal rules and regulations that potentially create unnecessary
burdens on small business owners. The office has released this year’s
list of the top ten problem areas. The listing was winnowed down from
eighty-three different nominations from small business owners across the
US. A quick glance at the list suggests that the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is not that popular among small business owners
and entrepreneurs. EPA rules, affecting issues such as oil spills and
emissions from dry cleaning establishments, take four spots on the top
ten list. Others on the list include the IRS’ current convoluted rules
concerning the home office deduction and the FAA’s current rules
limiting flights by small aircraft in the Washington DC region. |
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The Outlook for Jobs and Innovation in Europe
In 2000, European nations agreed to the
Lisbon Agenda, an aggressive program to generate economic growth across
all European Union economies. A new survey examines how Europe’s
economies are progressing in response to the Lisbon Agenda. Even with a
global downturn, the news is pretty good. Finland and Ireland are the
best performers, but all of the EU-15 (Europe’s 15 biggest economies)
appear set to meet the Lisbon Agenda goals for economic growth.
Productivity improvements are even more promising, as eleven European
economies have productivity growth rates above those of the US. The
report does contain some sobering news for France, Italy, and Austria.
All three economies are lagging and are not on track to meet established
Lisbon Agenda goals. |
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Business Week Ranks Best Undergrad B-Schools
There is no shortage of lists that rank
business schools. Yet most of these rankings are focused on MBA
programs. The latest issue of Business Week takes a stab at ranking
undergraduate business programs. The undergraduate business degree is
growing in popularity, and attending a top-quality school seems to
matter. Recent graduates of the top 25 schools on this list made an
average of more than $54,000 per year. Penn tops the 2008 list for best
undergraduate business programs, followed by (in rank order): Virginia,
Notre Dame, Cornell, and Emory. |
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The State of Corporate Philanthropy
Business executives are fairly satisfied with their firms’ corporate
philanthropy efforts, according to a recent McKinsey and Co. survey of
global corporate philanthropy. One-fifth of respondents believe that
their corporate philanthropy programs are “very or extremely effective”
in meeting social goals and shareholder expectations. Firms tend to give
for similar reasons. Top factors include a desire to enhance the
corporate image and brand, build employee leadership, and enhance
employee recruitment and retention. The McKinsey researchers note that
the most effective corporate efforts align their philanthropy with
social and political trends that are most relevant to their business.
Top-quality programs also emphasize collaboration with other corporate
partners, other philanthropic investors, community groups, and other
stakeholders. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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