Measuring the lead

Comparative analysis of global invention data to assess the strength of every patented idea

Explore 2023 findings

We set two threshold criteria that potential candidates must meet and add a measure of their patented innovation output over the last five years.

The Top 100 Global Innovators™ are those that sit at the very top of the candidate longlist, with the most consistently above-the-bar performance versus all other inventions in history.


All applicants


500
filed inventions


100
granted inventions


Qualifying Long list

=

International factor

Defining global

We identify innovating organizations that pass qualification criteria based on volume of inventive activity:

  • more than 500 filed inventions since 2000
  • more than 100 granted inventions in the 2023 five-year evaluation window

We then compare innovators based on the proportion and level of international inventions (ideas patented in more than one country or region), creating an international factor.

Benchmarking innovation

We evaluate all inventions in the Derwent World Patents Index™ (DWPI™) and score them on four factors:

  • Influence
    The level of technical leadership of the invention, via its effect on the ideas of others
  • Success
    The level of economic asset the invention produced as a valid, novel idea
  • Globalization
    The level of monetary and geographic investment in the invention
  • Rarity
    Where the invention sits on the development curve

Invention strength
The combined score across the four factors for the invention

All patented ideas


57M
inventions compared on these factors


Influence


Success


Globalization


Rarity


Invention Strength

=

Median Invention Strength

x

International Factor

=

Global Innovator Score

Identifying the leaders

Each invention returns an Invention Strength based on these four factors, compared directly to all other patented ideas.

Innovators are ranked based on the Invention Strength of the invention in the middle of their activity over the last five years (the median average, the value separating the top performing half of their inventions from the bottom half), weighted by the global innovator factor.

The Median Invention Strength is the Invention Strength score in the middle of each qualifier’s activity in the evaluation window for the Top 100 Global Innovators 2023.

The International Factor is how often and how many inventions are protected internationally.

The 2023 horizon

Explore the methodology behind the Top 100 and the 2023 horizon findings.

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Defining ideas

Behind any meaningful measure of innovation must sit authoritative and robust data.

Top 100 Global Innovators is powered by deep analysis of core Clarivate™ research and innovation data that records and structures the available technical knowledge of humanity. That adds layers of data science in measurement and that embeds diligence and expertise in its creation.

Our analysis of innovation in 2023 is built on enriched data used by research leaders, scientists, engineers and their advisors daily to help them navigate the complex and direct and guide their work.

Derwent World Patents Index™ (DWPI™)

A database of the patented ideas, DWPI records where and when inventions are protected across 60 patent-issuing states and authorities, with each idea distilled into English-language summaries and categorized into the industry, the technology and the need.

Created by thousands of Clarivate science and engineering expert editors, DWPI acts as the library of global human invention and patented problem solving.

Learn more

Derwent Patents Citation Index™

A sister database to DWPI, Derwent Patents Citation Index focuses on inventions that have been referenced by applicants and patent examiners in later, downstream patent applications.

Emulating DWPI invention-level structure, Derwent Patents Citation Index automatically removes double, triple (or more) counting of
citation events between the same patented ideas. Accessing the same distillation of industry and technology, it provides a record of the links between ideas as they develop.

Learn more

Web of Science™

Built on the bibliometric library science of Dr. Eugene Garfield, the Web of Science enumerates and tracks more than 170 million
journal articles and papers from 9,000 quality-evaluated research sources. With 1.9 billion interconnecting citation references curated by Clarivate experts over 60 years, the Web of Science acts as the world’s most robust source of independently measured research.

Learn more

More on Top 100 Global Innovators 2023

News 
July 25, 2023

Clarivate Releases Innovators to Watch 2023 Report
Article 

Lessons from the Top 100: Thales [Podcast]
Podcast 

Spotlight on Top 100 Global Innovators – A 3M Scientist’s Journey from Diamond-Like Coatings to Diapers

Intelligence to transform innovation

At Clarivate, we aim to provide the guidance and the clarity to understand and take advantage of the complex. To use the techniques, the information and the expertise behind the Top 100, contact us today.

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