Potential Future EU Members Compared by Economy > Innovation > Patent applications, residents per million

DEFINITION: Patent applications, residents. Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention--a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.