Speaking in an interview Wednesday, incoming Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier stressed the importance of technology and innovation in moving the pharmaceutical industry ahead.

Recalling the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite probe which initiated the Space Race, a top U.S. official has cited China's recent emergence as a leader in green tech innovation as a "Sputnik moment" for the United States.

Over the past decade, globalization, mobile technology and the ubiquity of web-based communication have allowed once-troubled countries such as China, India and Brazil to emerge as leaders in global innovation.

A federal jury ruled Tuesday that SAP must pay Oracle $1.3 billion in damages stemming from a copyright infringement suit involving SAP's now defunct subsidiary TomorrowNow. The California jury ruled that TomorrowNow had illegally downloaded hundreds of thousands of programs owned by Oracle in an attempt to steal customers away.

Canada's most populous province may be slacking in innovation, according to a report studying workplace innovation by the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress.

At its annual SmartCamp World Finals in Dublin, Ireland, this week, IBM announced Streetline Inc. as the 2010 Global Entrepreneur of the Year. The firm was among more than 600 worldwide tech-focused startups to participate in the competition.

General Electric announced the first 12 winners of its $200 million Ecomagination innovation competition Monday at a conference in New York City. The winners will receive investments totaling $55 million.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation along with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released its annual rankings of states best equipped to compete in an innovation-based world economy.

At the seventh annual Creative World Forum, four prominent figures in the energy industry discussed how the U.S can forge ahead as a leader in energy innovation, while also promoting new sources such as gas, solar and biofuels.

As part of the tech company's ongoing efforts to boost computer innovation worldwide, Intel has announced it will invest $77 million through 18 new investments. The deals span 11 different countries including Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States.

Growing fears that China may surpass the United States in innovative technologies, especially renewable energy, are grounded in legitimate facts. For one, Chinese patent filings are expected to eclipse the United States by the end of next year, according to Reuters, and the country has already become the second largest contributor to international science journals.

China's recent emergence as a preeminent innovator in the science and technology sectors has come as a bit of a sting to many of the world's top economies and innovative powers.

To add to the intensifying battle between U.S. phone manufacturers for control of the smartphone market, Motorola is counter-suing Microsoft, alleging the tech company's personal computer, server, mobile phone and Xbox products infringe on 16 different Motorola patents.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced Wednesday it is extending a green technology incentive program aimed at spurring continued innovation in the renewable energy industry.

In an effort to expand its global operations, General Electric has announced plans to invest $2 billion to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and partner development in China.

As an effort to boost small business growth and innovation in the emerging London tech industry, the United Kingdom has announced the beginning of a large-scale review of intellectual property and copyright laws.

In response to recent reports on internet neutrality put forth by the Federal Communications Commission, the Internet Innovation Alliance - a business and nonprofit coalition advocating open broadband access - released a statement pleading the FCC and the U.S. government to adopt necessary measures to ensure the continuation of widespread unbiased internet service.

Google and the U.K. government provided an outline Thursday to turn London's East End into a hub of technological innovation meant to rival Silicon Valley in California. Google announced in a separate statement that the tech and software giant will open up a training and development center in the blossoming London neighborhood.

Spending on research and development among the world's top investors in innovation dropped in 2009 for the first time in 13 years, according to a new study by the consulting firm Booz & Company. Among the 1,000 global companies that consistently spend the most on innovation research and development, total investment dropped 3.5 percent to $503 billion in 2009.

CEOs from a number of leading American corporations jointly confirmed Sunday the need for the U.S. to invest in education and innovation in order for the country to remain a worldwide market competitor.

In what some critics are calling an attempt to further control the smartphone market, Apple announced last week that it is suing Motorola over alleged patent infringements regarding the tech giant's iPhone mobile software.