Skip menu navigation Home > Listing of Viewable PTMT Reports


U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Patent Technology Monitoring Team (PTMT)


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2009

(document dated 16-APR-2010)

In calendar year 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 167,349 utility, 23,116 design, 1,009 plant, and 453 reissue patents, and 6 statutory invention registrations for a total of 191,933 patent documents for the year.

Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 3.6 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2008 (185,244 grants in 2008). Calendar year 2009 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 167,349, a 6.1 percent increase above the total for 2008 (157,772).

In 2009, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 49.5 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2008 (49.7%). California-resident inventors claimed a 24.6 percent share (23,354 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from Texas (6.8 percent, 6,436 patents), New York (6.4 percent, 6,127 patents), Washington (5.1 percent, 4,856 patents), Massachusetts (4.2 percent, 4,038 patents), Illinois (3.8 percent, 3,615 patents), and Michigan (3.7 percent, 3,516 patents. U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2008 to 2009: Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and New Hampshire.

There were 12,696 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2009, down from the 2008 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (13,063). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 13.4 percent in 2009 from a 14.2 percent share in 2008.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 50.5 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2009. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2009 was 19.8 percent, unchanged from 2008. The 2009 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.4 percent, unchanged from 2008. For South Korean-resident inventors, the 2009 share was 5.0 percent, up from 4.7 percent in 2008 and the share for Taiwan-resident inventors was 4.1 percent for 2009, unchanged from 2008. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2009 include Bulgaria, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Greece, Liechtenstein, Austria, Chile and People's Republic of China.

The foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2009 are displayed in the table below. Following the table is a detail table that lists states and countries of patent origin and the percentage change in patenting from 2008 to 2009.

 

This table displays the thirteen foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2009. Figures for the United States and for all countries overall are listed at the end of the table. Counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and statutory invention registrations. Patent origin is based on the residence of the first-named inventor.
Rank
in 2009
Number
of Patents
in 2009
Share of
All Patents
in 2009
Country (Rank
in 2008)
(Number
of patents
in 2008)
(2008 to 2009)
(Change in Number
of patents)
1 38,066 19.8% Japan (1) (36,679) ( 3.8% )
2 10,353 5.4% Germany (2) (10,085) ( 2.7% )
3 9,566 5.0% South Korea (3) ( 8,730) ( 9.6% )
4 7,781 4.1% Taiwan (4) ( 7,779) ( 0.0% )
5 4,393 2.3% Canada (5) ( 4,125) ( 6.5% )
6 4,011 2.1% United Kingdom (6) ( 3,843) ( 4.4% )
7 3,805 2.0% France (7) ( 3,813) ( -0.2% )
8 2,270 1.2% China, People's Rep. (9) ( 1,874) ( 21.1% )
9 1,837 1.0% Italy (8) ( 1,916) ( -4.1% )
10 1,558 0.8% Netherlands (10) ( 1,725) ( -9.7% )
11 1,550 0.8% Australia (11) ( 1,613) ( -3.9% )
12 1,525 0.8% Israel (13) ( 1,312) ( 16.2% )
13 1,454 0.8% Switzerland (12) ( 1,403) ( 3.6% )
             
  95,037 49.5% United States  ( 92,001) ( 3.3% )
  96,896 50.5% All Foreign  ( 93,243) ( 3.9% )
  191,933 100.0% All Countries  (185,244) ( 3.6% )

Annual Percentage Change in Patent Counts
By U.S. State and Country of Origin
Calendar Year 2008 to 2009

This table displays states and countries of origin along with the annual percentage change in patent counts (including utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and statutory invention registrations) from calendar year 2008 to 2009. U.S., foreign, and overall totals are displayed at the beginning of the table. Patent origin is based on the residence of the first-named inventor.
State or Country   Number
of Patents
in 2008
Number
of Patents
in 2009
Number
of Patents
in 2008-2009
Annual Percent
Increase
Total, U.S. And Foreign Origin   185244 191933 377177 3.6%
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin   92001 95037 187038 3.3%
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin   93243 96896 190139 3.9%
           
ALABAMA   354 377 731 6.5%
ALASKA   28 55 83 96.4%
ARIZONA   1892 1759 3651 -7.0%
ARKANSAS   152 154 306 1.3%
CALIFORNIA   22203 23354 45557 5.2%
COLORADO   1868 1968 3836 5.4%
CONNECTICUT   1595 1661 3256 4.1%
DELAWARE   353 342 695 -3.1%
FLORIDA   2808 2899 5707 3.2%
GEORGIA   1586 1666 3252 5.0%
HAWAII   101 96 197 -5.0%
IDAHO   1207 985 2192 -18.4%
ILLINOIS   3581 3615 7196 0.9%
INDIANA   1196 1246 2442 4.2%
IOWA   645 730 1375 13.2%
KANSAS   544 509 1053 -6.4%
KENTUCKY   469 457 926 -2.6%
LOUISIANA   322 315 637 -2.2%
MAINE   136 130 266 -4.4%
MARYLAND   1429 1445 2874 1.1%
MASSACHUSETTS   3897 4038 7935 3.6%
MICHIGAN   3584 3516 7100 -1.9%
MINNESOTA   2869 2972 5841 3.6%
MISSISSIPPI   142 144 286 1.4%
MISSOURI   787 877 1664 11.4%
MONTANA   115 91 206 -20.9%
NEBRASKA   214 226 440 5.6%
NEVADA   464 426 890 -8.2%
NEW HAMPSHIRE   526 608 1134 15.6%
NEW JERSEY   3247 3259 6506 0.4%
NEW MEXICO   295 329 624 11.5%
NEW YORK   5905 6127 12032 3.8%
NORTH CAROLINA   2157 2298 4455 6.5%
NORTH DAKOTA   72 92 164 27.8%
OHIO   3156 3023 6179 -4.2%
OKLAHOMA   476 446 922 -6.3%
OREGON   2173 2014 4187 -7.3%
PENNSYLVANIA   2850 3066 5916 7.6%
RHODE ISLAND   303 305 608 0.7%
SOUTH CAROLINA   524 579 1103 10.5%
SOUTH DAKOTA   60 56 116 -6.7%
TENNESSEE   798 785 1583 -1.6%
TEXAS   6184 6436 12620 4.1%
UTAH   727 855 1582 17.6%
VERMONT   514 500 1014 -2.7%
VIRGINIA   1183 1209 2392 2.2%
WASHINGTON   4158 4856 9014 16.8%
WEST VIRGINIA   91 102 193 12.1%
WISCONSIN   1921 1887 3808 -1.8%
WYOMING   41 64 105 56.1%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA   71 62 133 -12.7%
GUAM   3 1 4 -66.7%
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS   1 0 1 -100.0%
PUERTO RICO   18 20 38 11.1%
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   4 5 9 25.0%
U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION   2 0 2 -100.0%
           
JAPAN   36679 38066 74745 3.8%
GERMANY   10085 10353 20438 2.7%
KOREA, SOUTH   8730 9566 18296 9.6%
TAIWAN   7779 7781 15560 0.0%
CANADA   4125 4393 8518 6.5%
UNITED KINGDOM   3843 4011 7854 4.4%
FRANCE   3813 3805 7618 -0.2%
CHINA, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF   1874 2270 4144 21.1%
ITALY   1916 1837 3753 -4.1%
NETHERLANDS   1725 1558 3283 -9.7%
AUSTRALIA   1613 1550 3163 -3.9%
SWITZERLAND   1403 1454 2857 3.6%
ISRAEL   1312 1525 2837 16.2%
SWEDEN   1260 1231 2491 -2.3%
FINLAND   908 997 1905 9.8%
INDIA   672 720 1392 7.1%
AUSTRIA   575 767 1342 33.4%
BELGIUM   605 707 1312 16.9%
CHINA,HONG KONG S.A.R.   717 587 1304 -18.1%
DENMARK   566 537 1103 -5.1%
SINGAPORE   450 493 943 9.6%
SPAIN   418 403 821 -3.6%
NORWAY   297 292 589 -1.7%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION   181 204 385 12.7%
IRELAND   188 189 377 0.5%
NEW ZEALAND   169 198 367 17.2%
MALAYSIA   168 181 349 7.7%
BRAZIL   133 148 281 11.3%
SOUTH AFRICA   124 139 263 12.1%
MEXICO   77 80 157 3.9%
HUNGARY   72 48 120 -33.3%
POLAND   68 43 111 -36.8%
CZECH REPUBLIC   56 50 106 -10.7%
ARGENTINA   42 50 92 19.0%
LUXEMBOURG   35 56 91 60.0%
THAILAND   40 39 79 -2.5%
TURKEY   35 36 71 2.9%
GREECE   25 39 64 56.0%
BULGARIA   18 37 55 105.6%
SAUDI ARABIA   31 23 54 -25.8%
ICELAND   27 24 51 -11.1%
PORTUGAL   31 19 50 -38.7%
PHILIPPINES   22 25 47 13.6%
CHILE   20 26 46 30.0%
SLOVENIA   15 27 42 80.0%
INDONESIA   19 18 37 -5.3%
LIECHTENSTEIN   15 22 37 46.7%
UKRAINE   21 16 37 -23.8%
CROATIA   17 18 35 5.9%
COSTA RICA   13 18 31 38.5%
KUWAIT   15 15 30 0.0%
SLOVAKIA   12 16 28 33.3%
VENEZUELA   16 11 27 -31.3%
COLOMBIA   13 9 22 -30.8%
ROMANIA   12 8 20 -33.3%
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   10 9 19 -10.0%
LITHUANIA   13 3 16 -76.9%
MONACO   8 7 15 -12.5%
BELARUS   7 5 12 -28.6%
KENYA   4 7 11 75.0%
THE BAHAMAS   4 6 10 50.0%
CUBA   6 4 10 -33.3%
PAKISTAN   7 3 10 -57.1%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   3 6 9 100.0%
ECUADOR   2 6 8 200.0%
IRAN   2 6 8 200.0%
LEBANON   2 6 8 200.0%
MALTA   2 6 8 200.0%
PERU   5 3 8 -40.0%
SRI LANKA   2 6 8 200.0%
ESTONIA   3 4 7 33.3%
ISLE OF MAN   3 4 7 33.3%
JAMAICA   4 3 7 -25.0%
MOROCCO   4 3 7 -25.0%
URUGUAY   2 5 7 150.0%
ANDORRA   1 5 6 400.0%
BARBADOS   3 3 6 0.0%
LATVIA   1 5 6 400.0%
OMAN   5 1 6 -80.0%
SERBIA   4 2 6 -50.0%
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS   1 4 5 300.0%
CYPRUS   1 4 5 300.0%
EGYPT   2 3 5 50.0%
GUATEMALA   5 0 5 -100.0%
PANAMA   3 2 5 -33.3%
CAYMAN ISLANDS   2 2 4 0.0%
CHINA, MACAU S.A.R.   2 2 4 0.0%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF)   3 1 4 -66.7%
ZIMBABWE   0 4 4 No 2008 Patents
GREENLAND   0 3 3 No 2008 Patents
QATAR   1 2 3 100.0%
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO   1 2 3 100.0%
ARMENIA   1 1 2 0.0%
AZERBAIJAN   2 0 2 -100.0%
BOLIVIA   1 1 2 0.0%
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA   1 1 2 0.0%
GIBRALTAR   1 1 2 0.0%
KAZAKHSTAN   1 1 2 0.0%
TUNISIA   2 0 2 -100.0%
VIET NAM   0 2 2 No 2008 Patents
ANGUILLA   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA   1 0 1 -100.0%
BELIZE   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
BRUNEI   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
BURKINA FASO   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
CAMEROON   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
CHAD   1 0 1 -100.0%
FRENCH POLYNESIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
GUERNSEY   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
IRAQ   1 0 1 -100.0%
JORDAN   0 1 1 No 2008 Patents
KYRGYZSTAN   1 0 1 -100.0%
MACEDONIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
MAURITIUS   1 0 1 -100.0%
NAMIBIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
NIGERIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS   1 0 1 -100.0%
SEYCHELLES   1 0 1 -100.0%

Contact Information -

Questions regarding these reports should be directed to:

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Electronic Information Products Division - PTMT
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

tel: (571) 272-5600
FAX: (571) 273-0110
e-mail:oeip@uspto.gov

address of PTMT pages at the USPTO Web Site: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/tafp.html
selected PTMT reports available for download at : http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/data/


Top

Skip menu navigation Home > Listing of Viewable PTMT Reports