OREGON INVENTION INDEX – MARCH 2025

The Invention Index measures a country’s or state’s innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Oregon Invention Index March 2025: 1.75% (B grade)

Oregon Invention Index over the last year:

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

Oregon Invention Index Scores (Last 6 Months)

Analysis

Comparison with Previous Months:
Oregon’s Invention Index for March 2025 (1.75%) shows a decline from February 2025 (2.40%), breaking a two-month high that also included December 2024 (2.40%). Compared to January’s 1.58%, March reflects a moderate increase. The most significant short-term improvement occurred between November 2024 (1.03%) and December 2024 (2.40%).

Long-Term Trends:
Over the past six months, the Index fluctuated without a clear upward or downward trajectory. Scores alternated between lower (1.03%–1.75%) and higher (2.35%–2.40%) values. This inconsistency suggests that innovation activity in Oregon is variable rather than steadily increasing or declining.

Significant Changes:
November 2024 stands out as a low point (1.03%), followed by a sharp rebound in December (2.40%). This rapid increase of 1.37 percentage points is the most notable shift in the six-month span. Conversely, March 2025’s decrease of 0.65 points from February is a moderate but notable dip.

Contextualizing the Data:
March 2025’s 1.75% score falls below the recent highs of December and February but is still above the lowest point in November. This mid-range value suggests a possible return to average levels rather than a major directional change. The irregular pattern over six months supports the view that March’s dip is likely a temporary fluctuation within a volatile trend.

Discussion:

In March, the Oregon Invention Index scored a positive sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average and underperformed the downward trend for the year. This is in contrast to the prior 12 months, which experienced a considerable upward trend. As the world continues to recover from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is unclear if there is any backlog of applications awaiting approval or if the department has fully caught up. If approvals are not yet caught up, we may see a decrease in approvals – and a reduced Invention Index – in the coming months/years as the state feels the full economic impact of companies closing and/or being forced to minimize their staffing and therefore minimize their R&D work hours.

Learn more about the Invention Index here.

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

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