How do the BRIC countries play their roles in the global innovation arena? A study based on USPTO patents during 1990–2009

This paper proposes a new taxonomy for the internationalization patterns of innovation of the BRIC countries within the global innovation landscape during the period 1990---2009. Based on the BRICs' patents granted by the USPTO, we find (1) the BRICs gradually increased their roles in the global innovation arena with various degrees of internationalization; (2) the domestic-dominant pattern has widely countered the foreign dominance of...