IFI Claims ranks nicotine products among the top ten fastest-growing technologies, a ranking based on high five-year growth rates in patent filing categories.
Over the past five years, e-cigarette sales have increased by 35.8%, while sales of traditional cigarettes have increased by 23.2% during the same period. This growth rate puts them tied with self-driving cars, which top the list with a growth rate of 38.3%.
IFI Claims describes its index as "a window into which technologies are currently attracting attention from the R&D sector and which companies will benefit from patent protection in these areas in the future."
The company said patent activity provides researchers, analysts and investors with valuable information about a company's R&D activities. "Often, a company's true value lies in its intellectual property, so examining patent assets is a key tool in measuring the intangible assets of public companies," the company wrote in a press release.
“It touches on productivity, technical efficiency and intellectual property strategy, and often reveals technology trends and the competitive landscape of various industries.”
