Mass production of patents in China

Thompson Scientific study of patenting by Academics in 2005 has some interesting findings. Despite more than doubling in number over the six year period studied, academic inventions still represent only 5% of total inventions worldwide.The United States has seen a 21% growth in academic inventions from 2000 to 2005, with the University of California way ahead in terms of total numbers. Technology transfer here is managed by a central Office of Technology Transfer, with campus-based technology transfer offices. The inventions they lay claim to include nicotine patches, cochlear implants and atomic force microscopes.The flood has come from China- the top 10 from Asia are in China with patenting from 900 to 500- a very significant number considering that MIT score in 2005 was less than 200.