.. Contd from my prev reply] There are 2 kinds of successful business models:
1) Proprietary model: E.g. Microsoft. This is basically making money by unfairly suppressing/crushing end customers (Microsoft charges about $70 per PC for a stupid Operating system, while Linux gives a much superior OS at free of cost) and stealing other companys' (E.g. Apple) products and patenting them. Microsoft will no longer prosper unless it changes its strategy drastically within next 3 years)
2) Empowering model (Valid esp for media businesses) : E.g. Google. Google makes money by empowering people (End customers/employees/corporate clients/vendors) thru Innovative products like unbiased information(i.e. Search. Google doesn't manually control search results nor does it place its own sponsor sites on top in normal search results), making money by letting people make money(Adsense), allowing sponsors to make money(Adwords), allowing people to creatively express themselves (innovative products like Orkut/Blogger/Picassa/hudreds of free API's/Feeds/iGoogle/Google Gadgets/Google maps etc etc)
So I conclude that
Innovation = Not necessarily num of patents, but also (unpatented) empowering products!
So Google is one of the best innovators of today; Because it is knocking down all the competitors through fairest and most transperant business practices!
Further, I forecast that your "equation" will be totally outdated within next five years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! especially in this I
