1956

1959

1962

1965

1968

1971

1974

1977

1980

1983

1986

1989

1992

1995

1998

2001

2004

2007

2010

1800

1803

1806

1809

1812

1815

1818

1821

1824

1827

1830

1833

1836

1839

1842

1845

1848

1851

1854

1857

1860

1863

1866

1869

1872

1875

1878

1881

1884

1887

1890

1893

1896

1899

1902

1905

1908

1911

1914

1917

1920

1923

1926

1929

1932

1935

1938

1941

1944

1947

1950

1953

$2,000

200 Years ofInnovation

and Growth

GDP per person(In 1990 US$)

1st numbered US patent on the locomotive steam-engine

1st man-made plastic invented, patented and trademarked as Parkesine

Bessemer patents an Improvement of the manufacture of iron and steel

Edison patents the Electric lamp

Cooke and Wheatstone patent the Five needle telegraph

1st transatlantic telegraph message

Mendel’s scienti�c publication on plant hybridization

Benz patents Vehicle with gas engine

Ford mass-produces the Ford T

Bell patents Improvement in telegraphy

$3,000

Steam Locomotive1836

Plastics1856Industrial Steelmaking1856

Electric Lamp1879

Electric Telegraph1837

1858

Scienti�c Plant Breeding1866

1905

Automobiles1879

1908

Telephone1876

Marconi patents Transmitting electrical signals

1st industrial robot

Deep Blue beats chess master Kasparov

Just-in-time ManufacturingToyota implements Kanban for lean production

Sustainable EnergySolar cells are patented

Barcode patented

Bell Labs’ Semiconductor patent

1st Commodore PET sold

Fleming discovers Penicillin

Mass production of Penicillin

Jenkins patents “Transmitting pictures by wireless”

Marie Curie wins her 2nd Nobel Prize

Nuclear plant APS-1 generates electricity for commercial use

Santos-Dumont �ies his 14-bis

Wright brothers patent the Flying machine

$5,000

$7,500

$10,000

$15,000

Radio1897

Robotics1954

1996

Supply Chain Innovations

1953

1957

1952

Semiconductors1950

1977

Pharmaceuticals1929

1947

Television1925

Nuclear Energy1911

1954Airplanes1906

ARPANET network deployed

Scanning probe microscopy developed

Bicycle with nanotubes frame in the Tour de France

WWW is created at CERN

1st mobile telephone call

1st SMS sent

Industrial 3D printers commercialized

Low-cost 3D printers commercialized

$20,000

$25,000

$30,000

Internet1969

Nanotechnology1981

2005

1991

Mobile Phone1973

1992

3D Printing1987

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Source: World Intellectual Property Report 2015Infographic: InfographicWorld/WIPO

First succesful high-yielding wheat hybrid

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Mankind’s pursuit of innovative solutions has powered human progress and transformed our world. Two centuries of breakthrough innovations have seen a 15-fold growth in per capita incomes in frontier economies. WIPO’s 2015 World Intellectual Property Report looks at six transformative technologies, and explores the role of intellectual property in innovation.