Short takes

Here are some new reports and stories of interest on intangibles:

Creative Britain - New Talents for the New Economy:

Britain is a creative country and our creative industries1 are increasingly vital to the UK. Two million people are employed in creative jobs and the sector contributes £60 billion a year – 7.3 per cent – to the British economy. Over the past decade, the creative sector has grown at twice the rate of the economy as a whole and is well placed for continued growth as demand for creative content – particularly in English – grows.
This is a strong position. But there are major challenges ahead over the next decade. Global competition is growing as other countries recognise the economic value of creativity. To face this, our creative industries need the best possible business support structures in place and an abundant pool of talented people with the right skills to meet the needs of an expanding creative sector.

European Innovation Scoreboard 2007:

Based on their innovation performance, the countries included in the EIS 2007 fall into the following country groups:
* The innovation leaders include Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Sweden is the most innovative country, largely due to strong innovation inputs although it is less efficient than some other countries in transforming these into innovation outputs.
* The innovation followers include Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
* The moderate innovators include Australia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Norway, Slovenia and Spain.
* The catching-up countries include Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia. Turkey currently performs below the other countries.

The State of Indian Design: For a designer or advertising creative, India is a pretty exciting place to be right now.

A Powerful New Tool for Patent Valuation: The small, Chicago-based Patent Board offers clients a way to estimate the potential worth of an idea.

Happy reading