U.S. Losing Competitive Edge - China surpasses us in patents

It won't be long. Our student visas and temporary work visas are too difficult to obtain, the best minds are going elsewhere, and with the money that the Chinese government (Singapore is heavily doing this too) is throwing at companies and universities, we will soon find ourselves behind. Fewer patents means fewer innovative U.S. products, and so on. We still win in terms of quality, but with the state of dismal research funding, I predict soon even American researchers will begin migrating out of the U.S. and following the money.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/ ... LQ20111221
China tops U.S, Japan to become top patent filer
By Lee Chyen Yee
HONG KONG | Wed Dec 21, 2011

China became the world's top patent filer in 2011, surpassing the United States and Japan as it steps up innovation to improve its intellectual property rights track record, a Thomson Reuters research report showed on Wednesday. The report said the world's second-largest economy aimed to transform from a "made in China" to a "designed in China" market, with the government pushing for innovation in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals and technology.

However, legal experts said China would need to do more before it can lead the world in innovation as the quality of patents needed to improve.

In terms of patents overseas, Chinese companies have also been climbing in the rankings, according to data from the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).