A methodology for unveiling global innovation networks: patent citations as clues to cross border knowledge flows

This paper presents a new methodology to describe global innovations networks. Using 167,315 USPTO patents granted in 2009 and the papers they cited, this methodology shows "scientific footprints of technology" that cross national boundaries, and how multinational enterprises interact globally with universities and other firms. The data and the map of these flows provide insights to support a tentative taxonomy of global innovation networks.