The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center releases a report highlighting Oklahoma’s contributions to America’s innovation economy. This study is part of GIPC’s State Fact Sheets, which provide a look at the roles innovation and creativity play in each state. The report highlights local companies and facts demonstrating how innovation and creativity-which are safeguarded by strong IP rights-serve as a driving force behind economic recovery and future growth.

“Innovation and creativity is vital to Oklahoma’s economy, and is responsible for nearly nine percent of the state’s overall workforce,” said Mark Esper, executive vice president of the Chamber’s GIPC. Esper said that in 2005, businesses and universities spent more than $700 million on research and development in Oklahoma. That next year, Oklahoma employed almost 130,000 hi-tech workers. “The Oklahoma economy depends on the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurism,” said Esper.