Patenting Trends
Calendar Year 2001
In calendar year 2001, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted
a record number of patent documents including 166,045 utility, 16,872
design, 584 plant, and 480 reissue patents, and 76 statutory invention
registrations for a total of 184,057 patent documents for the year.
Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 4.5 percent over
the total for calendar year 2000 (176,085 grants in 2000). Calendar
year 2001 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered
166,045, a 5.4 percent increase over the total for 2000 (157,495).
In 2001, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident
inventors was 53.6 percent, down from the 55.1 percent U.S. share for
2000. California-resident inventors claimed a 21.1 percent share (20,863
patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident
inventors from New York (7.3 percent, 7,181 patents), Texas (6.9 percent,
6,764 patents), New Jersey (4.3 percent, 4,286 patents), Illinois (4.3
percent, 4273 patents) and Michigan (4.3 percent, 4,237 patents).
U.S.- resident inventors of the following areas had large percentage
increases in patent receipts from 2000 to 2001: Vermont, Iowa, Hawaii,
Alabama, New Mexico, Montana, District of Columbia, Maryland, and
Washington.
There were 18,843 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2001,
down from the 2000 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (20,352).
The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident
inventors dropped to 19.1 percent in 2001 from a 21.0 percent share in
2000.
Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 46.4 percent share of all U.S.
patents issued in 2001. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued
to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2001 was 19.0 percent, up
from 18.7 percent in 2000 but below the 19.2 and 19.7 percent shares in
1999 and 1998, respectively. The 2001 share of U.S. patents that were
issued to Germany-resident inventors was 6.5 percent, up from the 6.1
percent share in 2000.
In 2001, the number of patent grants to Taiwan residents increased by
12.7 percent over the total for 2000. Among the countries whose residents
received the most U.S. patents, Sweden and Germany also displayed large
increases in the number of patents granted to their residents. Other
countries with large percentage increases in annual patent receipts for
2001 include the People's Republic of China, India, Russian Federation,
Israel, and Australia.
The eleven foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S.
patents during calendar year 2001 are displayed in the table below.
Following the table is a detail table that lists states and countries and
the percentage change in patenting by their residents from 2000 to 2001.
2001 Share of (Rank in) (2000) (2000 - 2001)
Rank # Patents All Patents Country * (2000) (# Patents) (Change in #
of Patents)
---- --------- ----------- --------------- --------- ----------- -------------
1 34,891 19.0% Japan (1) (32,924) ( + 6.0% )
2 11,895 6.5% Germany (2) (10,822) ( + 9.9% )
3 6,545 3.6% Taiwan (3) (5,806) ( +12.7% )
4 4,456 2.4% France (4) (4,173) ( + 6.8% )
5 4,356 2.4% United Kingdom (5) (4,090) ( + 6.5% )
6 4,063 2.2% Canada (6) (3,925) ( + 3.5% )
7 3,763 2.0% South Korea (7) (3,472) ( + 8.4% )
8 1,978 1.1% Italy (8) (1,967) ( + 0.6% )
9 1,935 1.1% Sweden (9) (1,738) ( +11.3% )
10 1,557 0.8% Switzerland (10) (1,458) ( + 6.8% )
11 1,494 0.8% Netherlands (11) (1,410) ( + 6.0% )
98,666 53.6% United States (97,014) ( + 1.7% )
184,057 100.0% All Countries (176,085) ( + 4.5% )
* 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
2000 to 2001 (counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents,
and statutory invention registrations)
STATE * 2000 2001 TOTAL Annual %
00-01 Increase
ALABAMA 395 453 848 14.7%
ALASKA 57 58 115 1.8%
ARIZONA 1756 1702 3458 -3.1%
ARKANSAS 248 222 470 -10.5%
CALIFORNIA 19845 20863 40708 5.1%
COLORADO 2075 2110 4185 1.7%
CONNECTICUT 2086 2071 4157 -0.7%
DELAWARE 427 426 853 -0.2%
FLORIDA 3128 3149 6277 0.7%
GEORGIA 1542 1601 3143 3.8%
HAWAII 93 107 200 15.1%
IDAHO 1614 1737 3351 7.6%
ILLINOIS 4514 4273 8787 -5.3%
INDIANA 1701 1595 3296 -6.2%
IOWA 676 815 1491 20.6%
KANSAS 475 382 857 -19.6%
KENTUCKY 517 547 1064 5.8%
LOUISIANA 579 562 1141 -2.9%
MAINE 151 156 307 3.3%
MARYLAND 1483 1641 3124 10.7%
MASSACHUSETTS 3841 3972 7813 3.4%
MICHIGAN 4112 4237 8349 3.0%
MINNESOTA 2993 2926 5919 -2.2%
MISSISSIPPI 211 228 439 8.1%
MISSOURI 969 966 1935 -0.3%
MONTANA 144 162 306 12.5%
NEBRASKA 298 253 551 -15.1%
NEVADA 406 371 777 -8.6%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 679 671 1350 -1.2%
NEW JERSEY 4399 4286 8685 -2.6%
NEW MEXICO 347 391 738 12.7%
NEW YORK 7036 7181 14217 2.1%
NORTH CAROLINA 2197 2267 4464 3.2%
NORTH DAKOTA 98 107 205 9.2%
OHIO 4028 3995 8023 -0.8%
OKLAHOMA 616 633 1249 2.8%
OREGON 1462 1504 2966 2.9%
PENNSYLVANIA 4003 3842 7845 -4.0%
RHODE ISLAND 389 334 723 -14.1%
SOUTH CAROLINA 629 644 1273 2.4%
SOUTH DAKOTA 98 85 183 -13.3%
TENNESSEE 962 962 1924 0.0%
TEXAS 6789 6764 13553 -0.4%
UTAH 791 803 1594 1.5%
VERMONT 416 507 923 21.9%
VIRGINIA 1286 1281 2567 -0.4%
WASHINGTON 2048 2257 4305 10.2%
WEST VIRGINIA 158 161 319 1.9%
WISCONSIN 2078 2253 4331 8.4%
WYOMING 67 59 126 -11.9%
DIST. OF COLUMBIA 65 73 138 12.3%
GUAM 2 5 7 150.0%
PUERTO RICO 31 12 43 -61.3%
UNITED STATES ** 1 1 2 0.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) ISLANDS 3 3 6 0.0%
U.S. TOTALS 97014 98666 195680 1.7%
* Please note that the state of origin is determined by the
residence of the first-named inventor.
** No state indicated in database.
Patenting Trends, Annual Percentage Change in Patenting, Calendar
Year 2000 to 2001
(counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents,
and statutory invention registrations)
COUNTRY * 2000 2001 TOTAL Annual %
00-01 Increase
ALGERIA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
ARAB EMIRATES 2 6 8 200.0%
ARGENTINA 63 58 121 -7.9%
ARMENIA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
ARUBA 2 1 3 -50.0%
AUSTRALIA 859 1031 1890 20.0%
AUSTRIA 537 632 1169 17.7%
AZERBAIJAN 1 0 1 -100.0%
THE BAHAMAS 14 10 24 -28.6%
BAHRAIN 1 0 1 -100.0%
BARBADOS 0 4 4 No 2000 Patents
BELARUS 3 7 10 133.3%
BELGIUM 756 796 1552 5.3%
BERMUDA 2 4 6 100.0%
BOLIVIA 2 0 2 -100.0%
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
BRAZIL 113 125 238 10.6%
BRUNEI 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
BULGARIA 1 5 6 400.0%
CANADA 3925 4063 7988 3.5%
CAYMAN ISLANDS 8 4 12 -50.0%
CHILE 16 15 31 -6.3%
CHINA,HONG KONG SAR 548 620 1168 13.1%
CHINA P.REP. 163 266 429 63.2%
COLOMBIA 11 14 25 27.3%
COSTA RICA 8 12 20 50.0%
CROATIA 6 8 14 33.3%
CUBA 3 4 7 33.3%
CYPRUS 1 1 2 0.0%
CZECH REPUBLIC 41 23 64 -43.9%
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 10 7 17 -30.0%
DENMARK 509 556 1065 9.2%
DOMINICA 1 2 3 100.0%
DOMINICAN REPL. 5 0 5 -100.0%
ECUADOR 0 4 4 No 2000 Patents
EGYPT 8 6 14 -25.0%
EL SALVADOR 0 3 3 No 2000 Patents
ESTONIA 4 2 6 -50.0%
FINLAND 649 769 1418 18.5%
FR. POLYNESIA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
FRANCE 4173 4456 8629 6.8%
GEORGIA (REPL. OF) 0 2 2 No 2000 Patents
GERMANY 10822 11895 22717 9.9%
GIBRALTAR 1 0 1 -100.0%
GREECE 18 26 44 44.4%
GUATEMALA 2 0 2 -100.0%
GUINEA 1 0 1 -100.0%
HONDURAS 1 0 1 -100.0%
HUNGARY 38 61 99 60.5%
ICELAND 18 21 39 16.7%
INDIA 131 179 310 36.6%
INDONESIA 14 10 24 -28.6%
IRAN 0 2 2 No 2000 Patents
IRELAND 139 166 305 19.4%
ISRAEL 836 1031 1867 23.3%
ITALY 1967 1978 3945 0.6%
JAMAICA 2 1 3 -50.0%
JAPAN 32924 34891 67815 6.0%
JORDAN 0 3 3 No 2000 Patents
KAZAKHSTAN 4 3 7 -25.0%
KENYA 3 4 7 33.3%
KUWAIT 8 6 14 -25.0%
KYRGYZSTAN 1 1 2 0.0%
LATVIA 1 1 2 0.0%
LEBANON 4 2 6 -50.0%
LIECHTENSTEIN 19 24 43 26.3%
LITHUANIA 2 4 6 100.0%
LUXEMBOURG 55 48 103 -12.7%
MADAGASCAR 0 2 2 No 2000 Patents
MALAYSIA 47 56 103 19.1%
MALTA 2 2 4 0.0%
MEXICO 100 87 187 -13.0%
MONACO 15 18 33 20.0%
MOROCCO 2 1 3 -50.0%
NAMIBIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
NETH. ANTILLES 2 0 2 -100.0%
NETHERLANDS 1410 1494 2904 6.0%
NEW ZEALAND 136 160 296 17.6%
NIGERIA 2 1 3 -50.0%
NORWAY 266 283 549 6.4%
PAKISTAN 5 2 7 -60.0%
PANAMA 2 1 3 -50.0%
PERU 3 6 9 100.0%
PHILIPPINES 12 15 27 25.0%
POLAND 13 16 29 23.1%
PORTUGAL 12 16 28 33.3%
PALAU 1 0 1 -100.0%
QATAR 1 0 1 -100.0%
ROMANIA 4 10 14 150.0%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 185 239 424 29.2%
SAINT KITTS & NEVIS 1 2 3 100.0%
SAUDI ARABIA 19 12 31 -36.8%
SINGAPORE 242 304 546 25.6%
SLOVAKIA 4 1 5 -75.0%
SLOVENIA 18 21 39 16.7%
SOUTH AFRICA 125 137 262 9.6%
SOUTH KOREA 3472 3763 7235 8.4%
SPAIN 318 340 658 6.9%
SRI LANKA 5 3 8 -40.0%
SURINAME 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
SWEDEN 1738 1935 3673 11.3%
SWITZERLAND 1458 1557 3015 6.8%
SYRIA 4 1 5 -75.0%
TAIWAN 5806 6545 12351 12.7%
TANZANIA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
THAILAND 30 47 77 56.7%
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO 0 4 4 No 2000 Patents
TURKEY 6 14 20 133.3%
TURKS & CAICOS ISL. 1 1 2 0.0%
U.S.S.R. 1 0 1 -100.0%
UGANDA 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
UKRAINE 17 21 38 23.5%
UNITED KINGDOM 4090 4356 8446 6.5%
URUGUAY 1 0 1 -100.0%
UZBEKISTAN 2 2 4 0.0%
VENEZUELA 32 28 60 -12.5%
VIET NAM 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
VIRGIN (BRIT.) ISL. 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
YUGOSLAVIA 4 4 8 0.0%
ZIMBABWE 0 1 1 No 2000 Patents
FOREIGN TOTALS 79071 85391 164462 8.0%
TOTAL 176085 184057 360142 4.5%
* Please note that the country of origin is determined
by the residence of the first-named inventor.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCE: U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Technology Assessment and Forecast database (2-15-2001)
------------------
Questions regarding this report should be directed to:
(address as of 4/2002)
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
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