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U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Electronic Information Products Division
Patent Technology Monitoring Team (PTMT)


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2006

(document dated 08-FEB-2007)

In calendar year 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 173,771 utility, 20,965 design, 1149 plant, and 519 reissue patents, and 32 statutory invention registrations for a total of 196,436 patent documents for the year. Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 24.5 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2005 (157,741 grants in 2005). Calendar year 2006 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 173,771, a 20.8 percent increase above the total for 2005 (143,806).

In 2006, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 52.1 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2005 (52.4%). California-resident inventors claimed a 24.5 percent share (25,043 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from Texas (6.6 percent, 6,717 patents), New York (6.3 percent, 6,407 patents), Massachusetts (4.3 percent, 4,369 patents), Michigan (4.1 percent, 4,179 patents), Illinois (4.0 percent, 4,053 patents), New Jersey (3.5 percent, 3,629 patents) and Washington (3.5 percent, 3,620 patents). U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2005 to 2006: Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma and Massachusetts.

There were 15,247 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2006, up from the 2005 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (12,782). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 14.9 percent in 2006 from a 15.5 percent share in 2005.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 47.9 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2006. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2006 was 20.1 percent, down from 20.2 percent in 2005. The 2006 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.5 percent, down from 6.1 percent in 2005. For Taiwan-resident inventors, the 2006 share was 4.0 percent, up from 3.8 percent in 2005 and the share for South Korean-resident inventors jumped from 2.9 percent for 2005 to 3.3 percent for 2006. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2006 include Turkey, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Philippines, People's Republic of China, Slovenia, and Thailand.

The ten foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2006 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 2005 to 2006.

This table displays the ten foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2006. 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.
Rank
in 2006
Number
of Patents
in 2006
Share of
All Patents
in 2006
Country * (Rank
in 2005)
(Number
of patents
in 2005)
(2005 to 2006)
(Change in Number
of patents
1 39,411 20.1% Japan (1) (31,834) (23.8%)
2 10,889 5.5% Germany (2) (9,575) (13.7%)
3 7,919 4.0% Taiwan (3) (5,993) (32.1%)
4 6,509 3.3% South Korea (4) (4,591) (41.8%)
5 4,329 2.2% United Kingdom (5) (3,560) (21.6%)
6 4,094 2.1% Canada (6) (3,177) (28.9%)
7 3,856 2.0% France (7) (3,106) (24.1%)
8 1,899 1.0% Italy (8) (1,591) (19.4%)
9 1,647 0.8% Netherlands (9) (1,200) (37.3%)
10 1,538 0.8% Australia (12) (1,032) (49.0%)
             
  102,267 52.1% United States   (82,586) (23.8%)
  196,436 100.0% All Countries   (157,741) (24.5%)

Notes:

* Please note that the country of origin is determined by the residence of the first-named inventor.


Annual Percentage Change in Patent Counts
By U.S. State and Country of Origin *
Calendar Year 2005 to 2006

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 2005 to 2006. U.S. and foreign totals are displayed at the end of each corresponding section of the table. U.S., foreign, and overall totals are displayed at the end of the table.
State or Country * Number
of Patents
in 2005
Number
of Patents
in 2006
Number
of Patents
in 2005-2006
Annual Percent
Increase
ALABAMA 359 430 789 19.8%
ALASKA 36 45 81 25.0%
ARIZONA 1598 1893 3491 18.5%
ARKANSAS 153 185 338 20.9%
CALIFORNIA 19662 25043 44705 27.4%
COLORADO 1972 2349 4321 19.1%
CONNECTICUT 1677 1857 3534 10.7%
DELAWARE 341 396 737 16.1%
FLORIDA 2707 3263 5970 20.5%
GEORGIA 1358 1719 3077 26.6%
HAWAII 58 101 159 74.1%
IDAHO 1549 1717 3266 10.8%
ILLINOIS 3297 4053 7350 22.9%
INDIANA 1246 1499 2745 20.3%
IOWA 629 732 1361 16.4%
KANSAS 456 581 1037 27.4%
KENTUCKY 377 471 848 24.9%
LOUISIANA 298 365 663 22.5%
MAINE 159 156 315 -1.9%
MARYLAND 1284 1558 2842 21.3%
MASSACHUSETTS 3303 4369 7672 32.3%
MICHIGAN 3665 4179 7844 14.0%
MINNESOTA 2582 3268 5850 26.6%
MISSISSIPPI 127 153 280 20.5%
MISSOURI 732 863 1595 17.9%
MONTANA 119 136 255 14.3%
NEBRASKA 205 239 444 16.6%
NEVADA 443 472 915 6.5%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 538 657 1195 22.1%
NEW JERSEY 2868 3629 6497 26.5%
NEW MEXICO 273 354 627 29.7%
NEW YORK 5307 6407 11714 20.7%
NORTH CAROLINA 1839 2233 4072 21.4%
NORTH DAKOTA 81 77 158 -4.9%
OHIO 2731 3295 6026 20.7%
OKLAHOMA 429 584 1013 36.1%
OREGON 1849 2536 4385 37.2%
PENNSYLVANIA 2546 3191 5737 25.3%
RHODE ISLAND 312 354 666 13.5%
SOUTH CAROLINA 539 691 1230 28.2%
SOUTH DAKOTA 68 79 147 16.2%
TENNESSEE 713 817 1530 14.6%
TEXAS 5526 6717 12243 21.6%
UTAH 644 800 1444 24.2%
VERMONT 411 486 897 18.2%
VIRGINIA 1030 1232 2262 19.6%
WASHINGTON 2482 3620 6102 45.9%
WEST VIRGINIA 98 111 209 13.3%
WISCONSIN 1756 2151 3907 22.5%
WYOMING 55 56 111 1.8%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 59 69 128 16.9%
PUERTO RICO 33 26 59 -21.2%
UNITED STATES 2 2 4 0.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) ISLANDS 4 1 5 -75.0%
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 1 0 1 -100.0%
         
U.S. TOTALS 82586 102267 184853 23.8%
         
ALGERIA 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
ANDORRA 2 0 2 -100.0%
ANGUILLA 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
ARAB EMIRATES 5 9 14 80.0%
ARGENTINA 29 47 76 62.1%
ARMENIA 1 2 3 100.0%
AUSTRALIA 1032 1538 2570 49.0%
AUSTRIA 492 626 1118 27.2%
AZERBAIJAN 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
THE BAHAMAS 8 7 15 -12.5%
BARBADOS 0 3 3 No 2006 Patents
BELARUS 2 5 7 150.0%
BELGIUM 577 720 1297 24.8%
BERMUDA 2 2 4 0.0%
BRAZIL 98 148 246 51.0%
BULGARIA 6 4 10 -33.3%
CANADA 3177 4094 7271 28.9%
CAYMAN ISLAND 2 0 2 -100.0%
CHILE 12 14 26 16.7%
CHINA, HONG KONG SAR 596 753 1349 26.3%
CHINA P.REP. 565 970 1535 71.7%
COLOMBIA 10 7 17 -30.0%
COSTA RICA 13 26 39 100.0%
CROATIA 12 14 26 16.7%
CUBA 3 2 5 -33.3%
CYPRUS 6 4 10 -33.3%
CZECH REPUBLIC 28 37 65 32.1%
DENMARK 473 546 1019 15.4%
DOMINICAN REPL. 2 2 4 0.0%
ECUADOR 2 3 5 50.0%
EGYPT 7 4 11 -42.9%
EL SALVADOR 3 1 4 -66.7%
ESTONIA 5 2 7 -60.0%
FIJI 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
FINLAND 751 1005 1756 33.8%
FR. POLYNESIA 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
FRANCE 3106 3856 6962 24.1%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF) 3 3 6 0.0%
GERMANY 9575 10889 20464 13.7%
GIBRALTAR 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
GREECE 17 23 40 35.3%
GUATEMALA 1 1 2 0.0%
HONDURAS 1 1 2 0.0%
HUNGARY 48 49 97 2.1%
ICELAND 22 24 46 9.1%
INDIA 403 506 909 25.6%
INDONESIA 23 16 39 -30.4%
IRAN 1 2 3 100.0%
IRELAND 169 198 367 17.2%
ISRAEL 976 1325 2301 35.8%
ITALY 1591 1899 3490 19.4%
JAMAICA 1 0 1 -100.0%
JAPAN 31834 39411 71245 23.8%
JORDAN 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
KAZAKHSTAN 2 1 3 -50.0%
KENYA 10 3 13 -70.0%
KUWAIT 3 7 10 133.3%
LATVIA 2 2 4 0.0%
LEBANON 1 2 3 100.0%
LIECHTENSTEIN 10 20 30 100.0%
LITHUANIA 5 11 16 120.0%
LUXEMBOURG 49 49 98 0.0%
MACAU 2 2 4 0.0%
MALAYSIA 98 131 229 33.7%
MALTA 1 2 3 100.0%
MEXICO 95 88 183 -7.4%
MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF 1 0 1 -100.0%
MONACO 8 13 21 62.5%
MOROCCO 1 3 4 200.0%
NETHERLANDS 1200 1647 2847 37.3%
NEW ZEALAND 143 173 316 21.0%
NORWAY 242 272 514 12.4%
OMAN 1 0 1 -100.0%
PAKISTAN 4 2 6 -50.0%
PARAGUAY 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
PERU 3 3 6 0.0%
PHILIPPINES 18 35 53 94.4%
POLAND 25 31 56 24.0%
PORTUGAL 13 17 30 30.8%
QATAR 2 2 4 0.0%
ROMANIA 7 9 16 28.6%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 154 176 330 14.3%
SAUDI ARABIA 18 20 38 11.1%
SINGAPORE 377 469 846 24.4%
SLOVAKIA 0 4 4 No 2006 Patents
SLOVENIA 14 24 38 71.4%
SOUTH AFRICA 108 127 235 17.6%
SOUTH KOREA 4591 6509 11100 41.8%
SPAIN 318 381 699 19.8%
SRI LANKA 1 3 4 200.0%
SWEDEN 1189 1360 2549 14.4%
SWITZERLAND 1106 1388 2494 25.5%
SYRIA 0 3 3 No 2006 Patents
TAIWAN 5993 7919 13912 32.1%
THAILAND 25 42 67 68.0%
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO 0 3 3 No 2006 Patents
TUNISIA 1 2 3 100.0%
TURKEY 10 25 35 150.0%
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS 7 1 8 -85.7%
UKRAINE 19 25 44 31.6%
UNITED KINGDOM 3560 4329 7889 21.6%
URUGUAY 2 2 4 0.0%
UZBEKISTAN 0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
VENEZUELA 10 15 25 50.0%
VIET NAM 2 0 2 -100.0%
VIRGIN (BRITISH) ISLANDS 7 5 12 -28.6%
YUGOSLAVIA 4 2 6 -50.0%
ZIMBABWE 1 1 2 0.0%
SEYCHELLES 0 2 2 No 2006 Patents
         
FOREIGN TOTALS 75155 94169 169324 25.3%
         
U.S. TOTALS 82586 102267 184853 23.8%
FOREIGN TOTALS 75155 94169 169324 25.3%
TOTAL 157741 196436 354177 24.5%

Notes:

* Please note that the country of origin is determined by the residence of the first-named inventor.


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Electronic Information Products Division - PTMT
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