Patenting Trends
                         Calendar Year 1998


In calendar year 1998, the number of patent documents granted 
by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office totaled a record 163,209, 
including 147,521 utility, 14,767 design, 561 plant, and 298 
reissue patents, and 62 statutory invention registrations.  Annual 
grants for all patent documents increased by 31.5 percent over the 
total for calendar year 1997 (124,146 grants in 1997) and the 
147,521 grants for utility patents (patents for invention) in 1998 
represents a 31.7 percent increase over the total for 1997 (111,983).

During 1998, the share of all patent documents which were issued to 
U.S.-resident inventors was 55.6 percent, down from 56.3 percent for 
1997.  California resident inventors claimed a 19.7 percent share 
(17,831 patents) of the patent documents granted to U.S.-resident 
inventors, followed by New York (7.8 percent, 7,114 patents), Texas 
(6.6 percent, 5,979 patents), Illinois (4.8 percent, 4,366 patents), 
and New Jersey (4.6 percent, 4,206 patents). 

There were 20,765 patent documents granted to U.S. independent 
inventors during 1998, an increase of 27.5 percent over the 1997 count 
of U.S. independent inventor patents (16,285). However, the U.S. 
independent inventor share of all patent documents granted in 1998 
declined to 12.7 percent from the 13.1 percent share in 1997. 

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 44.4 percent share of all U.S. 
patent documents issued in 1998. The share of all U.S. patent documents 
issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 1998 was 19.7 
percent, up slightly from its 19.5 percent share in 1997.  The 1998 
share of all U.S. patent documents issued to Germany-resident inventors 
remained unchanged at 5.9 percent. 

In 1998, South Korea continued to rapidly increase its number of U.S. 
patents obtained, with annual patent receipts up 71 percent from 1997 
counts. Other countries with substantial increases in annual patent 
receipts in 1998 include the Netherlands, up 54 percent, and Taiwan, 
up 47 percent from 1997 counts.
 
The eleven foreign countries which received the most patent documents 
during calendar year 1998 are displayed below.  

                                                             (1997 to 1998)
1998 1998 #  1998 Share of                        (1997 # )  (Change in   )
Rank Patents  All Patents     Country             (Patents)  (# of Patents)
---- ------- -------------    -------------------- --------  --------------
 1    32,119     19.7%          Japan		    (24,191)    ( +32.8% )
 2     9,581      5.9%	        Germany		     (7,292)    ( +31.4% )
 3     3,991      2.4%	        France		     (3,202)    ( +24.6% )
 4     3,805      2.3%	        Taiwan		     (2,597)    ( +46.5% )
 5     3,726      2.3%	        United Kingdom	     (2,904)    ( +28.3% )
 6     3,537      2.2%	        Canada		     (2,817)    ( +25.6% )
 7     3,362      2.1%	        South Korea	     (1,965)    ( +71.1% )
 8     1,819      1.1%	        Italy		     (1,417)    ( +28.4% )
 9     1,382      0.8%	        Netherlands	     (  895)    ( +54.4% )
10     1,373      0.8%	        Switzerland	     (1,179)    ( +16.5% )
11     1,346      0.8%	        Sweden		     (  970)    ( +38.8% )
                                                                             
      90,705     55.6%	        United States	    (69,922)    ( +29.7% )
     163,209    100.0%	        All Countries	   (124,146)    ( +31.5% )


------------------
Questions regarding this report should be directed to:
(address as of 3/99)
             U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
             Office for Patent and Trademark Information
               Technology Assessment and Forecast Program
             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    (2-22-99)