Sci/Tech

The overall percentage of Basque companies implementing technological innovation in 2010 was 13.8%, a figure which rises to 30.1% in the case of those with 10 employees or more, according to Eustat data.

Spending by Basque companies on activities involving technological innovation stood at 2581.9 million euros, following a drop of 6.2% with regards to the previous year. This spending represented 3.95% of GDP.

Amongst the main activities necessary for technological innovation, particular mention should be made of spending on internal R&D, which accounted for 52.7% of the total, the acquisition of machinery and equipment, 20.8%, and the acquisition of external R&D, 13.2%, with the remaining activities accounting for 13.3% of spending.

32.1% of companies with technological innovation received some sort of public financial support. Support coming from the Basque Government accounted for 23.8% of the total for these companies. In the case of companies of 10 or more employees, 52.8% received support, with the Basque Government being the provider of funds to the greatest number of companies, specifically 43.5% of companies of this size that spent on innovation.

77.4% of innovating companies felt that innovation had positive effects

71.2% felt that innovation had positive effects on their products, be they goods or services, 60.1% on their internal processes and 39.0% felt that other positive effects existed, on the environment or the health of their employees.

In innovating companies of 10 or more employees, 90.9% felt that innovation had positive effects, whilst the rest of the previously mentioned percentages regarding this size of company accounted for 87.1%, 74.4% and 55.6%, respectively.

30.8% of innovating companies with 10 or more employees had used some kind of patent or other methods of protection for their inventions or innovations

It is worth mentioning that during the 2008-2010 period, 30.8% of innovating companies with 10 or more employees used some kind of patent or other method of protection. In these companies in this period, 11% requested some kind of patent to protect inventions or innovations developed in their establishment and 13.8% had one in force by the end of 2010. As for other methods of protection, 24.8% of innovating companies with 10 or more employees had used one in the aforementioned period. Amongst these the registering of trademarks (22.6%) and of designs or models (13.9%) stood out.