Innovative activities in Iran: A first glance

• This paper aims, for the first time, at exploring patenting activities in Iran during the period 2008–2012.
• This paper shows a sharp decline in the number of granted Iranian patents during the studied period.
• This paper demonstrates an exceptionally large share of individuals as patent holders in Iran.
• This paper indicates that innovative activities are strongly concentrated around Tehran, the capital.
• This paper helps to characterize some of the basic features of innovative activities in Iran.

This paper proposes a descriptive account of basic features of innovative activities in Iran during the period 2008–2012 measured by patents registered before the Iranian Patent Office. Our study shows a pronounced decline in the number of Iranian patents during the studied period. It also demonstrates an exceptionally large share of individuals as patent holders. Our results indicate that innovative activities are strongly concentrated around Tehran, the capital. Finally, we refer to evidence which implies that Iran's decreased patenting activity in recent years could be mostly due to other factors rather than the country's slowing pace of technological innovation.