The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters has published a report titled 'Building Bricks: Exploring the Global Research Impact of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Korea'. The report tracks global research publications, R&D spend and patent filings over a 10-year period to gauge benchmarks of economic innovation in the BRICK countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Korea. According to the report, China and South Korea outpace the rest of the BRICK nations in key innovation metrics. Data for the report were compiled using Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge and Derwent World Patents Index.
According to the study, China and South Korea have made larger investments, produced more published research and filed a greater number of patent applications over the past decade than the rest of the group. The strong culture of intellectual property protection and broad-based economic growth in these nations has resulted in more literature citations, on par with some EU countries. The research also unveiled that each BRICK nation has its own, unique profile. For example, while South Korea is prominent in materials and computer science, Brazil's focus is on agriculture, plant and animal sciences.
Among the report's key observations, it has been stated that China's and South Korea's R&D investments have soared between 2000 and 2010, and the two countries have contributed significantly to a global patent surge. BRICK nations have been found to have increased scientific research. While Russia excels in physical sciences, India leads in pharmaceutical innovation, and Brazil in petroleum and agriculture chemicals.
