In just a few short months, COVID-19 swept through the world. To understand the impact of the pandemic on the world’s innovators and measure sentiment, our Derwent™ team asked organizations from a cross-section of industries worldwide about how the pandemic has affected their innovation strategies and the critical role of the IP professional. Read the new report.
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, run businesses and government. While the economic and social damages are expected to be significant, society at large has remained remarkably resilient. Indeed, it is often in crisis that ingenuity and innovation are unlocked, made necessary, even accelerated.
Examples abound of innovation during these challenging times.
- Breweries and distilleries have adapted production facilities to produce hand sanitizers.
- Manufacturers have diverted resources to manufacture personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, including an engineering start-up in Italy that created valves used in ventilators through 3D printing.
- COVID-19 diagnostic test kits have been developed quickly; for example, Bosch developed its rapid COVID-19 test in less than six weeks.
Not only is change a constant, the global pandemic illustrates the importance of innovation in responding to change and adversity.
Innovation in a time of crisis
To understand the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s innovators and measure sentiment, our Derwent team interviewed nearly 250 organizations, including small entities to enterprise organizations across a cross-section of industries, on the innovation and patent research challenges they face in the COVID-19 crisis. Survey respondents were involved in or had insight to some or all of their organization’s innovation lifecycle, from information and R&D professionals to senior decision makers.
We found that almost half of respondents (49%) acknowledged that their innovation activity has changed in response to COVID-19. The varying levels of lockdown and quarantine measures have clearly accelerated the move towards digitization, cited as the most significant change to innovation activity by more than half (52%) of respondents.
“Almost half of respondents (49%) acknowledged that their innovation activity has changed in response to COVID-19”
Additional findings explore:
- The level of disruption to innovation activity due to the pandemic
- Changes to innovation activity in response to the crisis
- How information professionals are seeing patent research activity change
- Challenges to collaboration and efficiency
- Contrasting views from senior decision makers versus non-executives
- Regional differences between Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America
Unwavering commitment to innovation and patent research activity
Time and again, innovation has shone through in moments of crisis. In the midst of a global pandemic, we are witnessing a new wave of innovation including 3D printed hands-free door openers and basic ventilators. The pace of clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines is also accelerating. From a patent and trademark perspective, many patent offices around the world including the United States Patent and Trademark Offices (USPTO) have put in place pilot programs to prioritize COVID-19 related applications.
Our report shows organizations’ unwavering commitment to innovation and patent research activity. Even in the most difficult of times.
Download Chasing change: Innovation and patent activity during COVID-19 to learn more.
Interested in more research from Derwent patent experts? See our recent analysis of the bioplastics innovation landscape, or read about this year’s Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators.
