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Which are the world’s most innovative companies?

Thomson Reuters annual Top 100 Global Innovators program measures innovation based on a proprietary objective patent-based methodology, drawn from the company's Derwent World Patents Index and Derwent Patents Citation Index®.

The companies with the most activity make the list – view the 2015 winners here.

See the metrics behind the numbers – and why it’s proven such an accurate measure of innovation (2:19)

Now in its fifth year, the Top 100 Global Innovators program has proven the validity of using patents as a measure of innovation. Only ideas or inventions protected with intellectual property rights are of commercial value and, therefore, labeled innovative.

Bob Stembridge, senior IP analyst, IP & Science, Thomson Reuters

Highlights from the 2015 Top 100 Global Innovators analysis:
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  • Google+

  • Asia continues to dominate the world as the most innovative region, led by Japan.
  • Chinese organizations miss making the elite list, due to the concentration of domestic innovation in China.
  • North America is the second-most innovative region; all but one are from the US, the other from Canada.
  • France leads in Europe, with 10 Top 100 companies in 2015, up from seven the prior year.
  • A number of new entrants made the ranking in 2015, including Amazon® (US) and several new chemical companies: Mitsui Chemicals, Showa Denko and Toray (all from Japan), as well as Solvay (Belgium).

Composition of the 2015 Top 100 Global Innovators

  • Japan
  • US
  • France
  • Germany
  • South Korea
  • Switzerland
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Netherlands
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan

Why innovation matters
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  • Google+

The top performers on our list are engines of wealth and job creation. Since the program's inception, companies in the Top 100 Innovators list have outperformed the S&P 500 and MSCI World Index in market cap weighted average and other metrics.

Here’s what one CEO has to say on the subject.

Going Global: Frans van Houten, CEO, Philips (0:54)

Read more at Top 100 Global Innovators report

Learn more

Thomson Reuters 2015 Top 100 Global Innovators
Thomson Reuters Innovation Magazine