CHARLIE DON'T INNOVATE:

Innovation Nation: The EU-U.S. innovation gap is getting smaller, but America still leads in most categories. (The American, May/June 2008)

[T]wo indicators on which America outperforms all other European countries are tertiary education and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patents.

Still, in several crucial areas the EU-U.S. gap remains sizable. For example, “the GDP share of early-stage venture capital” is “more than 50 percent higher in the U.S.” In addition, “There is a large gap in business R&D expenditures, 1.17 percent of EU GDP as compared to 1.87 percent in the U.S., which is not becoming smaller.” Meanwhile, the United States is expanding its lead in public R&D expenditures and high-tech exports.

And consider the most recent evidence from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In 2007, the United States accounted for over one-third (33.5 percent) of all international patent filings under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty. Japan came in a distant second at 17.8 percent.