What is product development if not innovation? And what chokes off innovation? Considering our economic ethos, the lack of available credit comes to mind of course.  But what about getting a patent on a new product? The crash has hurt the U.S. Patent Office like everyone else.

According to the AP:

After several years of hiring more than 1,200 patent examiners a year, the office has suspended hiring, trimmed overtime and made other cutbacks. This comes as the office and its 6,000 examiners are struggling to whittle down a backlog of 770,000 new, unexamined applications.

"Innovation is the way America generally gets out of downturns," said Robert Budens, president of the Patent Office Professional Association. The group represents 4,000 examiners and other patent professionals, many of whom worry the recession will mean layoffs before the end of the year.

The story points out that some smaller companies appear to be selecting their very best products/ideas/designs and focusing on those, instead of flooding the office with potentials that may or may not bear fruit.  But those that can afford it are pushing ahead with R&D to avoid being caught flat-footed without fresh product when the economy begins a recovery.  At least that’s the view at Segway.  

"The recession has caused us to be very conservative in a lot of areas, but research and development is not one of them," said James Norrod, president and chief executive officer of Segway Inc., the Bedford, N.H.-based maker of two-wheeled, stand-up vehicles. "We think that R&D is really the life blood of the company. We haven't cut back. We have actually added people in that area."

There’s some evidence of that with the PUMA project.

If recessions and depressions have taught us anything, it’s that companies that innovate in downtimes are the ones that survive through the uptimes.