Writes law professor and blogger Dennis Crouch: “I tend to attribute huge rise in patenting activity over the past two decades more to a perceived strengthening of the patent right and less to an actual increase in innovations. In recent years, court decisions and threatened action from congress may have reduced the perceived potential value of the patent right — thus lowering demand. Perhaps now, applicants are filing fewer ‘junk’ patents.”

But I shouldn’t really scoff. You know the one about the drunk looking under the lamp post? “What are you looking for?” “My car keys.” “I don’t see anything here, are you sure this is where you dropped them?” “Oh, I dropped them somewhere else, I know.” “Then why are you looking here?” “Because the light is better.”

Well, I can’t remember exactly where I read this, but I promise I did read that it turns out, statistically speaking, that you really are more likely to find the keys in the light…So, to connect this back to the innovation measure: the numbers relating to patents probably do correlate with innovation — statistically speaking.

NOTE: While the iPhone app costs $2.99 (one-time) the others are free.