FIGURE C.2 Patent data for all classes normalized to U.S. numbers to show relative activity. The United States remains dominant over time. The divergence of the Asia5 and Japan data lines show emerging patent activity in Taiwan, Korea, China, and India. The dip in share for Asia and Europe in the last 5-year period is linked to a jump in U.S. patent activity over the same period, perhaps linked to the high-tech economic boom of the late 1990s. SOURCE: USPTO.

C.4, which shows the ranking in terms of share. The United States, Japan, and the European Union dominate the ranking. The U.S. and EU shares did not change significantly between 1991 and 2000, while the Japanese share decreased. Countries often associated with the globalization of R&D—such as China, India, Korea, and Taiwan (“Chinese Taipei” according to OECD nomenclature)—have very small overall shares. Nevertheless, each shows significant increases in share over the last decade of the 20th century. Figure C.4 shows an increase in share for many countries, with the notable exceptions of France, Japan, and Switzerland. However, globalization is more than simply an absolute increase in international activity, so it is helpful to look at patterns in transnational patent ownership. Figure