Patenting Trends
Calendar Year 2000
In calendar year 2000, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a
record number of patent documents including 157,497 utility, 17,414
design, 548 plant, and 524 reissue patents, and 104 statutory invention
registrations for a total of 176,087 patent documents for the year.
Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 4.1 percent over the
total for calendar year 1999 (169,147 grants in 1999). Calendar year
2000 grants of utility patents (`patents for inventions') increased by
2.6 percent over the total for 1999 (153,486).
In 2000, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident
inventors was 55.1 percent, down from the 55.6 percent U.S. share for
1999. California-resident inventors claimed a 20.5 percent share
(19,845 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by
resident inventors from New York (7.3 percent, 7,036 patents), Texas
(7.0 percent, 6,789 patents), Illinois (4.7 percent, 4,514 patents),
and New Jersey (4.5 percent, 4,399 patents). U.S.- resident inventors
of the following areas had large percentage increases in patent receipts
from 1999 to 2000: Nebraska, North Dakota, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming,
and Vermont.
There were 20,352 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2000,
slightly fewer than the 1999 count of U.S. independent inventor patents
(20,540). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to
U.S.-resident inventors in 2000 was 21.0 percent, down from a 21.8
percent share in 1999.
Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 44.9 percent share of all U.S.
patents issued in 2000. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued
to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2000 was 18.7 percent, down
from 19.2 percent in 1999 and 19.7 percent in 1998. The 2000 share of
U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 6.1
percent, up from a 5.9 percent share for 1999.
In 2000, the number of patent grants to Taiwan residents increased by a
substantial 28.3 percent over the total for 1999. Among the countries
whose residents received the most U.S. patents, Italy and Sweden also
displayed large increases in the number of patents granted to their
residents while South Korea and Japan displayed modest declines. Other
countries with large percentage increases in annual patent receipts for
2000 include People's Republic of China, Singapore, Argentina, and
Ireland.
The eleven foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S.
patents during calendar year 2000 are displayed in the table below.
Following that table is a table that lists states and countries and the
percentage change in patenting by their residents from 1999 to 2000.
2000
2000 Share of (1999) (1999 to 2000)
Rank # Patents All Patents Country * (Rank in 1999) (# Patents) (Change in # Patents)
---- --------- ----------- --------------- -------------- ----------- ---------------------
1 32,924 18.7% Japan (1) (32,514) ( + 1.3% )
2 10,822 6.1% Germany (2) (9,895) ( + 9.4% )
3 5,806 3.3% Taiwan (3) (4,526) ( +28.3% )
4 4,173 2.4% France (4) (4,097) ( + 1.9% )
5 4,090 2.3% United Kingdom (5) (3,900) ( + 4.9% )
6 3,925 2.2% Canada (7) (3,678) ( + 6.7% )
7 3,472 2.0% South Korea (6) (3,679) ( - 5.6% )
8 1,967 1.1% Italy (8) (1,686) ( +16.7% )
9 1,738 1.0% Sweden (9) (1,542) ( +12.7% )
10 1,458 0.8% Switzerland (11) (1,390) ( + 4.9% )
11 1,410 0.8% Netherlands (10) (1,396) ( + 1.0% )
97,016 55.1% United States (94,091) ( + 3.1% )
176,087 100.0% All Countries (169,147) ( + 4.1% )
* Please note that the country of origin is determined by the residence
of the first-named inventor
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Regional Patenting, Annual Percentage Change in Patenting, Calendar Year
1999 to 2000 (counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue
patents, and statutory invention registrations)
STATE * 1999 2000 TOTAL Annual %
99-00 Increase
ALABAMA 473 395 868 -16.5%
ALASKA 66 57 123 -13.6%
ARIZONA 1623 1756 3379 8.2%
ARKANSAS 226 248 474 9.7%
CALIFORNIA 18860 19845 38705 5.2%
COLORADO 1987 2076 4063 4.5%
CONNECTICUT 2026 2086 4112 3.0%
DELAWARE 444 427 871 -3.8%
FLORIDA 3040 3128 6168 2.9%
GEORGIA 1544 1543 3087 -0.1%
HAWAII 97 93 190 -4.1%
IDAHO 1263 1614 2877 27.8%
ILLINOIS 4308 4514 8822 4.8%
INDIANA 1707 1701 3408 -0.4%
IOWA 817 676 1493 -17.3%
KANSAS 495 475 970 -4.0%
KENTUCKY 509 517 1026 1.6%
LOUISIANA 519 579 1098 11.6%
MAINE 145 151 296 4.1%
MARYLAND 1642 1483 3125 -9.7%
MASSACHUSETTS 3819 3841 7660 0.6%
MICHIGAN 4031 4112 8143 2.0%
MINNESOTA 2901 2993 5894 3.2%
MISSISSIPPI 225 211 436 -6.2%
MISSOURI 1087 969 2056 -10.9%
MONTANA 142 144 286 1.4%
NEBRASKA 229 298 527 30.1%
NEVADA 356 406 762 14.0%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 692 679 1371 -1.9%
NEW JERSEY 4371 4399 8770 0.6%
NEW MEXICO 357 347 704 -2.8%
NEW YORK 6903 7036 13939 1.9%
NORTH CAROLINA 1956 2197 4153 12.3%
NORTH DAKOTA 76 98 174 28.9%
OHIO 4003 4028 8031 0.6%
OKLAHOMA 545 616 1161 13.0%
OREGON 1386 1462 2848 5.5%
PENNSYLVANIA 4077 4003 8080 -1.8%
RHODE ISLAND 341 389 730 14.1%
SOUTH CAROLINA 654 629 1283 -3.8%
SOUTH DAKOTA 78 98 176 25.6%
TENNESSEE 1018 962 1980 -5.5%
TEXAS 6425 6789 13214 5.7%
UTAH 748 791 1539 5.7%
VERMONT 363 416 779 14.6%
VIRGINIA 1151 1286 2437 11.7%
WASHINGTON 2038 2048 4086 0.5%
WEST VIRGINIA 166 158 324 -4.8%
WISCONSIN 1997 2078 4075 4.1%
WYOMING 58 67 125 15.5%
DIST. OF COLUMBIA 63 65 128 3.2%
GUAM 4 2 6 -50.0%
PUERTO RICO 33 31 64 -6.1%
U.S. (NO STATE) 5 1 6 -80.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) ISL 2 3 5 50.0%
U.S. TOTALS 94091 97016 191107 3.1%
* Please note that the state of origin is determined by the residence of the first-named inventor
Patenting Trends, Annual Percentage Change in Patenting, Calendar Year 1999 to 2000
(counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and statutory invention registrations)
COUNTRY * 1999 2000 TOTAL Annual %
99-00 Increase
ALBANIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ANDORRA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ARAB EMIRATES 3 2 5 -33.3%
ARGENTINA 46 63 109 37.0%
ARMENIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ARUBA 0 2 2 No 1999 Patents
AUSTRALIA 832 859 1691 3.2%
AUSTRIA 505 537 1042 6.3%
AZERBAIJAN 1 1 2 0.0%
THE BAHAMAS 11 14 25 27.3%
BAHRAIN 2 1 3 -50.0%
BARBADOS 1 0 1 -100.0%
BELARUS 5 3 8 -40.0%
BELGIUM 718 756 1474 5.3%
BERMUDA 1 2 3 100.0%
BOLIVIA 1 2 3 100.0%
BRAZIL 98 113 211 15.3%
BULGARIA 3 1 4 -66.7%
CANADA 3678 3925 7603 6.7%
CAYMAN ISLANDS 2 8 10 300.0%
CHILE 12 16 28 33.3%
CHINA,HONG KONG 413 548 961 32.7%
CHINA P.REP. 99 163 262 64.6%
COLOMBIA 6 11 17 83.3%
COSTA RICA 11 8 19 -27.3%
CROATIA 16 6 22 -62.5%
CUBA 3 3 6 0.0%
CYPRUS 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
CZECH REPUBLIC 25 41 66 64.0%
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 5 10 15 100.0%
DENMARK 588 509 1097 -13.4%
DOMINICA 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
DOMINICAN REPL. 3 5 8 66.7%
ECUADOR 4 0 4 -100.0%
EGYPT 3 8 11 166.7%
ESTONIA 1 4 5 300.0%
FINLAND 695 649 1344 -6.6%
FRANCE 4097 4173 8270 1.9%
GEORGIA (REPL. OF) 1 0 1 -100.0%
GERMANY 9895 10822 20717 9.4%
GHANA 1 0 1 -100.0%
GIBRALTAR 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
GREECE 24 18 42 -25.0%
GUATEMALA 1 2 3 100.0%
GUINEA 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
HAITI 1 0 1 -100.0%
HONDURAS 2 1 3 -50.0%
HUNGARY 39 38 77 -2.6%
ICELAND 12 18 30 50.0%
INDIA 114 131 245 14.9%
INDONESIA 5 14 19 180.0%
IRAN 1 0 1 -100.0%
IRELAND 104 139 243 33.7%
ISRAEL 792 836 1628 5.6%
ITALY 1686 1967 3653 16.7%
JAMAICA 1 2 3 100.0%
JAPAN 32514 32924 65438 1.3%
JORDAN 1 0 1 -100.0%
KAZAKHSTAN 1 4 5 300.0%
KENYA 2 3 5 50.0%
KUWAIT 13 8 21 -38.5%
KYRGYZSTAN 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
LATVIA 3 1 4 -66.7%
LEBANON 2 4 6 100.0%
LIECHTENSTEIN 15 19 34 26.7%
LITHUANIA 2 2 4 0.0%
LUXEMBOURG 35 55 90 57.1%
MADAGASCAR 1 0 1 -100.0%
MALAYSIA 34 47 81 38.2%
MALTA 0 2 2 No 1999 Patents
MARSHALL ISLANDS 1 0 1 -100.0%
MAURITIUS 1 0 1 -100.0%
MEXICO 94 100 194 6.4%
MOLDOVA, REPL. OF 3 0 3 -100.0%
MONACO 15 15 30 0.0%
MOROCCO 2 2 4 0.0%
NAMIBIA 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
NETH. ANTILLES 0 2 2 No 1999 Patents
NETHERLANDS 1396 1410 2806 1.0%
NEW ZEALAND 134 136 270 1.5%
NICARAGUA 1 0 1 -100.0%
NIGERIA 0 2 2 No 1999 Patents
NORFOLK ISLAND 1 0 1 -100.0%
NORWAY 246 266 512 8.1%
PAKISTAN 0 5 5 No 1999 Patents
PANAMA 1 2 3 100.0%
PARAGUAY 1 0 1 -100.0%
PERU 3 3 6 0.0%
PHILIPPINES 21 12 33 -42.9%
POLAND 20 13 33 -35.0%
PORTUGAL 6 12 18 100.0%
PALAU 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
QATAR 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
ROMANIA 4 4 8 0.0%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 185 185 370 0.0%
SAINT KITTS & NEVI 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
SAN MARINO 1 0 1 -100.0%
SAUDI ARABIA 13 19 32 46.2%
SINGAPORE 152 242 394 59.2%
SLOVAKIA 6 4 10 -33.3%
SLOVENIA 13 18 31 38.5%
SOUTH AFRICA 127 125 252 -1.6%
SOUTH KOREA 3679 3472 7151 -5.6%
SPAIN 265 318 583 20.0%
SRI LANKA 0 5 5 No 1999 Patents
SURINAME 2 0 2 -100.0%
SWEDEN 1542 1738 3280 12.7%
SWITZERLAND 1390 1458 2848 4.9%
SYRIA 1 4 5 300.0%
TAIWAN 4526 5806 10332 28.3%
THAILAND 29 30 59 3.4%
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO 1 0 1 -100.0%
TURKEY 4 6 10 50.0%
TURKS & CAICOS ISL 0 1 1 No 1999 Patents
U.S.S.R. 3 1 4 -66.7%
UKRAINE 20 17 37 -15.0%
UNITED KINGDOM 3900 4090 7990 4.9%
URUGUAY 4 1 5 -75.0%
UZBEKISTAN 1 2 3 100.0%
VENEZUELA 39 32 71 -17.9%
VIET NAM 2 0 2 -100.0%
VIRGIN (BRIT.) ISL 3 0 3 -100.0%
YUGOSLAVIA 3 4 7 33.3%
ZIMBABWE 1 0 1 -100.0%
FOREIGN TOTALS 75056 79071 154127 5.3%
TOTAL 169147 176087 345234 4.1%
* Please note that the country of origin is determined
by the residence of the first-named inventor.
------------------
Questions regarding this report should be directed to:
(address as of 5/2001)
U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Information Products Division
Technology Assessment and Forecast Branch
PK3-Suite 441
Washington, DC 20231
tel (703) 306-2600
FAX (703) 306-2737
_______________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCE: U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Technology Assessment and Forecast database (2-15-2001)
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