The changing landscape of innovation

R&ampD (research and development) expenditure is an investment aimed at new knowledge, products or processes. Funding may come from government or business. Government-funded R&ampD aims mainly at producing new fundamental knowledge or satisfying social needs such as health or defence and is not expected to affect productivity as currently measured. Business-funded R&ampD is typically oriented towards new processes and new products and is expected to increase productivity when successful. It is normally mildly pro-cyclical, i.e. it is affected by the business cycle, as it is subject to financing constraints (the availability of cash limits R&ampD expenditures, as high risk and little collateral make financial markets reluctant to fund R&ampD). The most recent data show that trademark activity has been strongly affected by the economic crisis, with a marked drop in finance- and insurance-related trademarks at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from mid-2007. Goods and other services trademark activity turned down with the cycle and then up with the cycle at the beginning of 2009.