MINYANVILLE ORIGINAL Is China more innovative than the US? In 2011 China received more patent applications than any other country in the world.   However as The Economist points out the story is not as simple as it appears to be.   “There is no reliable way to measure a patent’s value. But one can use a rough-and-ready yardstick: In how many places did the inventors seek a patent for the same technology? If it is a good idea they will try to patent it in lots of places. If they just want to pocket a Chinese subsidy they won’t ...