Five years ago most of the components inside a typical Apple iPod came from Japan. Today a tear-down of the iPad reveals that nearly all the important components come from South Korea and Taiwan. In such a short time Japan’s dominance of Asia’s technology industry has been eroded by its neighbors according to a story in The Economist.
"Between 2006 and 2009, the number of patent applications in America, Europe and South Korea largely held steady. But filings in Japan sank while those in China soared. If the pattern holds, more patents may be filed in China this year than in Japan for the first time, putting China in striking distance of America. It is an astonishing reversal. As recently as 2000, Japanese patent filings were four times greater than China’s.
To read the full, original article click on this link: China overtaking Japan in patent applications | http://www.thenextsiliconvalley.com
