United StatesChange Country
Small to Mid-Sized Businesses
Cards
View All Business Cards
Most Popular Cards
Travel Rewards Cards
No Annual Fee Cards
View All Corporate Card Programs
Business Funding
Business Loans
Access growth capital on flexible terms
Working Capital Terms
Smooth cash flow: We pay vendors now, you pay us later
Merchant Financing
Fixed-fee, no-interest business loans
View All Funding Options
Payment Solutions
FX International Payments
Streamline global payments to expand worldwide
vPayment
Improve transaction controls & payment efficiency
Large Businesses
Cards
View All Corporate Card Programs
Merchant Financing
Merchant Financing
Fixed-fee, no-interest business loans
Payment Solutions
Supplier Payment Solutions
Efficiently manage supplier & travel expenses online
Employee Expense Management
Manage expenses to lower costs, improve cash flow
FX International Payments
Streamline global payments to expand worldwide
Trends & Insights
Trends & Insights
Insights and Inspiration to Grow Your Business
Managing Money
Cash Flow
Financing
Taxes
Getting Customers
Marketing & Sales
Customer Relations
Digital Tools
Social Media Strategy
Building Your Team
Hiring & HR
Company Culture
Leadership
Productivity
Planning for Growth
Strategy
Growth Opportunities
Research
Operations
Find a Solution

June 11, 2009

Why You Should Care about the Patent Office

The AP  takes note  of one little-reported consequence of the credit crash, the recession, and the rest that helps more fully fles

Marc Tracy

bizbox.slate.com

 The AP takes note of one little-reported consequence of the credit crash, the recession, and the rest that helps more fully flesh out their implications. Namely, applications for patents are down. The article blames the recession for this trend: it has driven down both big corporations' R&D budgets as well as venture capital funding for smaller, more entrepreneur-type innovational efforts. Even "basement inventors"--people who invent stuff alone in their basement--whose normal ways of accessing credit have been shut off and whose discretionary income is likely to have shrunk have been filing fewer patent applications.


And that is bad not just for innovators but for everyone else, too. As the head of the patent examiners' union puts it, "Innovation is the way America generally gets out of downturns." Indeed, innovational entrepreneurship is also the natural thing for people to turn to during recessions.



 American Express OPEN brings you the latest insights from noted business authors and experts in our special promotion with Slate BizBox.

About the Author

Marc Tracy

bizbox.slate.com