Is the UK losing its ability to innovate? Since 2000 it has dropped out of the top 10 to 18th in the 'league' of patent applications by country. And a survey of 1,000 "creatives" by the British Library and invention development specialists Innovate Product Design reveals that 52 per cent of them have never had an idea for an invention.
The survey marks the launch of “Inventing the 21st Century”, an exhibition that celebrates the 15 "most ingenious inventions to come out of the UK in the last decade". This new British Library exhibition explores the story of each product's development, from idea to market, "aiming to both inspire and inform a new generation of innovative Brits!"
The researchers surveyed 1,000 people. Of the respondents, 78 per cent said they believe the UK to be an innovative country. But of those who said that they had come up with a potential invention, 67 per cent did not develop it beyond that initial idea. Fewer than 10 per cent of those who said they had an idea for an invention reported successfully developing it into a product, and 55 per cent of men who responded to the survey said they had an idea for an invention at some point in the last 10 years compared to just 41 per cent of female respondents, but there was little difference when it came to developing their idea.
The “Inventing the 21st Century” exhibition runs at The British Library until November 28 (see video below).
“Britain has a proud tradition of invention, yet since the year 2000 we have slipped to 18th internationally in terms of world patent applications filed per million," says British Library patent expert and curator of “Inventing the 21st Century”, Steve van Dulken. "For example, in the early 1990s Britain was filing almost twice as many applications as France, yet by 2004 they had overtaken us and now file almost a third more than us...
“Exploring the journey behind 15 of the most ingenious inventions to come out of the UK in the past 10 years, “Inventing the 21st Century” aims to both inspire and inform a generation of aspiring British inventors, helping them to kick start economic recovery and uphold Britain’s proud innovative tradition.”
More information
Inventing the 21st Century exhibition
Curator Steve van Dulken's blog
For more information on how the British Library and Innovate Product Design can help you investigate the potential of your invention ideas, visit www.bl.uk/bipc or www.innovate-design.co.uk
