The Role of R&D Offshoring in Explaining the Patent Growth of China and India at USPTO

Recently granted patents by Chinese and Indian inventors for protection at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) increase rapidly, although from a quite low base. This paper uses patent data to explore the phenomenon of Chinese and India inventors' growing interest to apply for USPTO patents. We draw on a comprehensive database consisting of all granted utility patents with China or India as residence of the first-named inventors from 1988 to 2007. Data show both in China and India, most USPTO patents are owned by foreign assignees. The results coincide with the trends of FDI and related foreign-invested R&D activities in two countries by time, area and industry. We discuss the policy implications of R&D offshoring finally.