Foreign patent flows to and from the United Kingdom

Abstract

A substantial part of the stock of technological knowhow in any given country is determined by foreign companies. Flows of technology are reflected in part by the international pattern of patenting behaviour. This paper examines both the patent applications in the UK by foreign countries and UK patent applications abroad. It concludes that each country is exposed to a subset of world-wide technology determined by the profitability of transfer of new knowhow. Profitability is affected by the size of potential supply of new inventions in donor countries, by the attractiveness of markets for knowhow in recipient countries and by the costs of transfer.