Patenting Trends
Calendar Year 1999
In calendar year 1999, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted
a record 169,154 patent documents, including 153,493 utility, 14,732
design, 421 plant, and 448 reissue patents, and 60 statutory invention
registrations. Annual grants for all patents increased by 3.6 percent
over the total for calendar year 1998 (163,208 grants in 1998). Utility
patent grants (patents for invention) in 1999 represent a 4 percent
increase over the total for 1998 (147,520).
In 1999, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident
inventors was 55.6 percent, unchanged from the U.S. share for 1998.
California resident inventors claimed a 20.0 percent share (18,865
patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident
inventors from New York (7.3 percent, 6,900 patents), Texas (6.8 percent,
6,424 patents), New Jersey (4.6 percent, 4,372 patents), and Illinois
(4.6 percent, 4,308 patents). U.S. resident-inventors of the following
areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 1998
to 1999: Puerto Rico, Idaho, South Dakota, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas,
and Wyoming.
There were 20,543 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 1999,
slightly fewer than the 1998 count of U.S. independent inventor patents
(20,765). The U.S. independent inventor patent share of all patents
issued to U.S.-resident inventors in 1999 was 21.8 percent, down from a
22.9 percent share in 1998.
Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 44.4 percent share of all U.S.
patents issued in 1999. The share of U.S. patents that were issued to
Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 1999 was 19.2 percent, down
from 19.7 percent in 1998. The 1999 share of U.S. patents that were
issued to Germany-resident inventors remained at 5.9 percent.
In 1999, Taiwan moved ahead of France into third position among foreign
countries whose residents patented in the United States. South Korea
moved into sixth place, edging ahead of Canada. Countries with the
largest percentage increases in annual patent receipts in 1999, as
compared to 1998, include Ireland, Austria, Mexico, India, Taiwan,
Denmark, Sweden, People's Republic of China, Singapore, and Brazil.
The eleven foreign countries that received the most U.S. patents during
calendar year 1999 are displayed below. Also included below is a table
that lists states and countries and their percentage change in patenting
from 1998 to 1999.
(1998 to 1999)
1999 1999 # 1999 Share of (1998 # ) (Change in )
Rank Patents All Patents Country (Patents) (# of Patents)
---- ------- ------------- -------------------- -------- --------------
1 32,515 19.2% Japan (32,119) ( + 1.2% )
2 9,896 5.9% Germany (9,582) ( + 3.3% )
3 4,526 2.7% Taiwan (3,805) ( +18.9% )
4 4,097 2.4% France (3,991) ( + 2.7% )
5 3,900 2.3% United Kingdom (3,726) ( + 4.7% )
6 3,679 2.2% South Korea (3,362) ( + 9.4% )
7 3,678 2.2% Canada (3,537) ( + 4.0% )
8 1,686 1.0% Italy (1,820) ( - 7.4% )
9 1,542 0.9% Sweden (1,346) ( +14.6% )
10 1,396 0.8% Netherlands (1,382) ( + 1.0% )
11 1,391 0.8% Switzerland (1,373) ( + 1.3% )
94,096 55.6% United States (90,701) ( + 3.7% )
169,154 100.0% All Countries (163,208) ( + 3.6% )
* 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 1998 to 1999
(counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and
statutory invention registrations)
STATE * 1998 1999 TOTAL Annual %
98-99 Increase
-------------- ----- ------ ------- ---------------
ALABAMA 422 469 891 11.1%
ALASKA 76 66 142 -13.2%
ARIZONA 1677 1622 3299 -3.3%
ARKANSAS 184 226 410 22.8%
CALIFORNIA 17828 18865 36693 5.8%
COLORADO 1916 1984 3900 3.5%
CONNECTICUT 2071 2026 4097 -2.2%
DELAWARE 424 444 868 4.7%
FLORIDA 3116 3043 6159 -2.3%
GEORGIA 1496 1545 3041 3.3%
HAWAII 93 97 190 4.3%
IDAHO 897 1261 2158 40.6%
ILLINOIS 4365 4308 8673 -1.3%
INDIANA 1561 1706 3267 9.3%
IOWA 720 819 1539 13.8%
KANSAS 404 495 899 22.5%
KENTUCKY 404 508 912 25.7%
LOUISIANA 543 519 1062 -4.4%
MAINE 143 145 288 1.4%
MARYLAND 1575 1642 3217 4.3%
MASSACHUSETTS 3735 3822 7557 2.3%
MICHIGAN 3825 4039 7864 5.6%
MINNESOTA 2780 2903 5683 4.4%
MISSISSIPPI 202 220 422 8.9%
MISSOURI 1049 1086 2135 3.5%
MONTANA 149 142 291 -4.7%
NEBRASKA 233 229 462 -1.7%
NEVADA 332 356 688 7.2%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 649 690 1339 6.3%
NEW JERSEY 4204 4372 8576 4.0%
NEW MEXICO 363 356 719 -1.9%
NEW YORK 7113 6900 14013 -3.0%
NORTH CAROLIN 1842 1953 3795 6.0%
NORTH DAKOTA 69 77 146 11.6%
OHIO 3897 4005 7902 2.8%
OKLAHOMA 542 545 1087 0.6%
OREGON 1560 1386 2946 -11.2%
PENNSYLVANIA 3763 4077 7840 8.3%
RHODE ISLAND 357 341 698 -4.5%
SOUTH CAROLIN 682 656 1338 -3.8%
SOUTH DAKOTA 57 78 135 36.8%
TENNESSEE 912 1018 1930 11.6%
TEXAS 5980 6424 12404 7.4%
UTAH 731 748 1479 2.3%
VERMONT 343 363 706 5.8%
VIRGINIA 1163 1152 2315 -0.9%
WASHINGTON 1998 2039 4037 2.1%
WEST VIRGINIA 211 166 377 -21.3%
WISCONSIN 1880 1999 3879 6.3%
WYOMING 49 58 107 18.4%
DISTR. OF COL. 85 63 148 -25.9%
GUAM 5 4 9 -20.0%
PUERTO RICO 21 33 54 57.1%
UNITED STATES 2 4 6 100.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) 3 2 5 -33.3%
U.S. TOTALS 90701 94096 184797 3.7%
COUNTRY * 1998 1999 TOTAL Annual %
98-99 Increase
-------------- ----- ------ ------- ---------------
ALBANIA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
ALGERIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ANDORRA 2 1 3 -50.0%
ANGUILLA 1 0 1 -100.0%
ANTIGUA + BARB 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
ARAB EMIRATES 1 3 4 200.0%
ARGENTINA 46 46 92 0.0%
ARMENIA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
AUSTRALIA 830 832 1662 0.2%
AUSTRIA 408 505 913 23.8%
AZERBAIJAN 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
THE BAHAMAS 10 11 21 10.0%
BAHRAIN 0 2 2 No 1998 Patents
BARBADOS 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
BELARUS 8 5 13 -37.5%
BELGIUM 755 718 1473 -4.9%
BERMUDA 2 1 3 -50.0%
BOLIVIA 1 1 2 0.0%
BRAZIL 88 98 186 11.4%
BULGARIA 4 3 7 -25.0%
CANADA 3537 3678 7215 4.0%
CAYMAN ISLANDS 6 2 8 -66.7%
CHILE 17 12 29 -29.4%
CHINA,HONG KON 373 413 786 10.7%
CHINA, PEOPLE' 88 99 187 12.5%
COLOMBIA 4 6 10 50.0%
COSTA RICA 5 11 16 120.0%
CROATIA 14 16 30 14.3%
CUBA 5 3 8 -40.0%
CZECH REPUBLIC 17 25 42 47.1%
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 9 5 14 -44.4%
DENMARK 500 588 1088 17.6%
DOMINICAN REPU 0 3 3 No 1998 Patents
ECUADOR 6 4 10 -33.3%
EGYPT 1 3 4 200.0%
EL SALVADOR 1 0 1 -100.0%
ESTONIA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
FINLAND 629 695 1324 10.5%
FRANCE 3991 4097 8088 2.7%
GERMANY 9582 9896 19478 3.3%
GHANA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
GREECE 17 24 41 41.2%
GUATEMALA 2 1 3 -50.0%
HAITI 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
HONDURAS 4 2 6 -50.0%
HUNGARY 52 39 91 -25.0%
ICELAND 7 12 19 71.4%
INDIA 94 114 208 21.3%
INDONESIA 10 5 15 -50.0%
IRAN 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
IRELAND 81 104 185 28.4%
ISRAEL 820 792 1612 -3.4%
ITALY 1820 1686 3506 -7.4%
JAMAICA 1 1 2 0.0%
JAPAN 32119 32515 64634 1.2%
JORDAN 3 1 4 -66.7%
KAZAKHSTAN 1 1 2 0.0%
KENYA 1 2 3 100.0%
KUWAIT 6 13 19 116.7%
LATVIA 1 3 4 200.0%
LEBANON 3 2 5 -33.3%
LIECHTENSTEIN 16 15 31 -6.3%
LITHUANIA 3 2 5 -33.3%
LUXEMBOURG 46 35 81 -23.9%
MADAGASCAR 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
MALAYSIA 35 34 69 -2.9%
MALTA 2 0 2 -100.0%
MARSHALL ISLAN 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
MAURITIUS 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
MEXICO 77 94 171 22.1%
MOLDOVA, REPUB 0 3 3 No 1998 Patents
MONACO 7 15 22 114.3%
MOROCCO 2 2 4 0.0%
MYANMAR 1 0 1 -100.0%
NETH. ANTILLES 1 0 1 -100.0%
NETHERLANDS 1382 1396 2778 1.0%
NEW CALEDONIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
NEW ZEALAND 145 134 279 -7.6%
NICARAGUA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
NIGERIA 2 0 2 -100.0%
NORFOLK ISLAND 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
NORWAY 232 246 478 6.0%
PAKISTAN 2 0 2 -100.0%
PANAMA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
PARAGUAY 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
PERU 5 3 8 -40.0%
PHILIPPINES 19 21 40 10.5%
POLAND 19 20 39 5.3%
PORTUGAL 12 6 18 -50.0%
ROMANIA 3 4 7 33.3%
RUSSIAN FEDERA 194 185 379 -4.6%
SAINT KITTS + 2 0 2 -100.0%
SAN MARINO 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
SAUDI ARABIA 14 13 27 -7.1%
SINGAPORE 136 152 288 11.8%
SLOVAKIA 2 6 8 200.0%
SLOVENIA 20 13 33 -35.0%
SOUTH AFRICA 132 127 259 -3.8%
SOUTH KOREA 3362 3679 7041 9.4%
SPAIN 308 265 573 -14.0%
SRI LANKA 2 0 2 -100.0%
SURINAME 0 2 2 No 1998 Patents
SWEDEN 1346 1542 2888 14.6%
SWITZERLAND 1373 1391 2764 1.3%
SYRIA 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
TAIWAN 3805 4526 8331 18.9%
THAILAND 21 29 50 38.1%
TRINIDAD/TOBAG 2 1 3 -50.0%
TURKEY 2 4 6 100.0%
TURKS AND CAIC 1 0 1 -100.0%
U.S.S.R. 6 3 9 -50.0%
UKRAINE 17 20 37 17.6%
UNITED KINGDOM 3726 3900 7626 4.7%
URUGUAY 3 4 7 33.3%
UZBEKISTAN 1 1 2 0.0%
VENEZUELA 29 39 68 34.5%
VIET NAM 0 2 2 No 1998 Patents
VIRGIN (BRITIS 3 3 6 0.0%
YUGOSLAVIA 4 3 7 -25.0%
ZIMBABWE 0 1 1 No 1998 Patents
TOTAL 163208 169154 332362 3.6%
* 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 3/99)
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 (2-22-2000)
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