The table below contains more information regarding the indicator.
Indicator name |
Proportion of innovation in environment-related technology |
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Target |
No specific target |
Indicator description |
The indicator measures the proportion of patents in environment-related technology out of the total number of patents. |
Geographical coverage |
Canada |
Unit of measurement |
Percentage |
Calculations |
A five-year moving average was used to smooth for election and policy impacts that could affect the data during a specific year. |
Comments and limitations |
Patents are subject to certain drawbacks: the value distribution of patents is skewed as many patents have no industrial application (and hence are of little value to society) whereas a few are of substantial value; many inventions are not patented because they are not patentable or inventors may protect the inventions using other methods, such as secrecy, lead time, etc.; the propensity to patent differs across countries and industries; differences in patent regulations make it difficult to compare counts across countries; and changes in patent law over the years make it difficult to analyse trends over time. (OECD Stat) |