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U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Office of Electronic Information Products
Patent Technology Monitoring Division (PTMD)


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2004

(document dated 09-FEB-2005)

In calendar year 2004, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 164,293 utility, 15,695 design, 1,016 plant, and 298 reissue patents, and 20 statutory invention registrations for a total of 181,322 patent documents for the year. Annual grants of all patent documents decreased by 3.1 percent over the total for calendar year 2003 (187,052 grants in 2003). Calendar year 2004 grants of utility patents (‘patents for inventions’) numbered 164,293, a 2.8 percent decrease over the total for 2003 (169,027).

In 2004, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 51.9 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2003 (52.7%). California-resident inventors claimed a 22.9 percent share (21,602 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from New York (7.0 percent, 6,618 patents), Texas (6.6 percent, 6,241 patents), Michigan (4.4 percent, 4,123 patents), Massachusetts (4.1 percent, 3906 patents), Illinois (4.0 percent, 3,754 patents), Ohio (3.6 percent, 3,418 patents) and New Jersey (3.6 percent, 3,354 patents). U.S.- resident inventors of the following areas had large percentage increases in patent receipts from 2003 to 2004: District of Columbia, Alaska, Rhode Island, Kansas, Delaware, Utah, North Dakota, Oregon, Montana and Nevada.

There were 15,173 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2004, down from the 2003 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (16,895). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 16.1 percent in 2004 from a 17.1 percent share in 2003.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 48.1 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2004. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2004 was 20.4 percent, up from 19.9 percent in 2003. The 2004 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 6.3 percent, down from 6.5 percent in 2003.

In calendar year 2004, among the countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents, Taiwan and South Korea displayed large increases in the number of patents granted to their residents while France and Sweden displayed larger than average declines. Other countries with large percentage increases in annual patent receipts for 2004 include Indonesia, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Liechtenstein, Ukraine, Iceland and Slovenia.

The eleven foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2004 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 2003 to 2004.

This table displays the eleven foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2004. Figures for the United States and for all countries overall are listed at the end of the table.
Rank
in 2004
Number
of Patents
in 2004
Share of
All Patents
in 2004
Country * (Rank
in 2003)
(Number
of patents
in 2003)
(2003 to 2004)
(Change in Number
of patents
1 37,034 20.4% Japan (1) (37,249) ( -0.6% )
2 11,367 6.3% Germany (2) (12,140) ( -6.4% )
3 7,207 4.0% Taiwan (3) (6,676) ( 8.0% )
4 4,671 2.6% South Korea (4) (4,132) ( 13.0% )
5 3,905 2.2% United Kingdom (6) (4,036) ( -3.2% )
6 3,781 2.1% Canada (7) (3,893) ( -2.9% )
7 3,686 2.0% France (5) (4,127) (-10.7% )
8 1,946 1.1% Italy (8) (2,022) ( -3.8% )
9 1,537 0.8% Netherlands (10) (1,570) ( -2.1% )
10 1,405 0.8% Switzerland (11) (1,433) ( -2.0% )
11 1,388 0.8% Sweden (9) (1,629) (-14.8% )
             
  94,129 51.9% United States   (98,598) ( -4.5% )
  181,322 100.0% All Countries   (187,052) ( -3.1% )

Notes:

Counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and statutory invention registrations.

* 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 2003 to 2004

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 registractions) from calendar year 2003 to 2004. 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 2003
Number
of Patents
in 2004
Number
of Patents
in 2003-2004
Annual Percent
Increase
ALABAMA 459 412 871 -10.2%
ALASKA 43 49 92 14.0%
ARIZONA 1714 1730 3444 0.9%
ARKANSAS 176 160 336 -9.1%
CALIFORNIA 22079 21602 43681 -2.2%
COLORADO 2304 2290 4594 -0.6%
CONNECTICUT 1844 1723 3567 -6.6%
DELAWARE 372 406 778 9.1%
FLORIDA 3119 2991 6110 -4.1%
GEORGIA 1537 1492 3029 -2.9%
HAWAII 96 86 182 -10.4%
IDAHO 1850 1822 3672 -1.5%
ILLINOIS 3964 3754 7718 -5.3%
INDIANA 1679 1485 3164 -11.6%
IOWA 711 736 1447 3.5%
KANSAS 491 540 1031 10.0%
KENTUCKY 495 463 958 -6.5%
LOUISIANA 439 387 826 -11.8%
MAINE 165 138 303 -16.4%
MARYLAND 1579 1440 3019 -8.8%
MASSACHUSETTS 4192 3906 8098 -6.8%
MICHIGAN 4220 4123 8343 -2.3%
MINNESOTA 3262 2996 6258 -8.2%
MISSISSIPPI 184 159 343 -13.6%
MISSOURI 946 895 1841 -5.4%
MONTANA 125 131 256 4.8%
NEBRASKA 240 229 469 -4.6%
NEVADA 455 476 931 4.6%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 731 681 1412 -6.8%
NEW JERSEY 3923 3354 7277 -14.5%
NEW MEXICO 405 383 788 -5.4%
NEW YORK 6921 6618 13539 -4.4%
NORTH CAROLINA 2174 2075 4249 -4.6%
NORTH DAKOTA 62 66 128 6.5%
OHIO 3894 3418 7312 -12.2%
OKLAHOMA 563 490 1053 -13.0%
OREGON 1867 1967 3834 5.4%
PENNSYLVANIA 3555 3224 6779 -9.3%
RHODE ISLAND 325 368 693 13.2%
SOUTH CAROLINA 650 581 1231 -10.6%
SOUTH DAKOTA 89 88 177 -1.1%
TENNESSEE 975 874 1849 -10.4%
TEXAS 6378 6241 12619 -2.1%
UTAH 724 784 1508 8.3%
VERMONT 465 428 893 -8.0%
VIRGINIA 1250 1182 2432 -5.4%
WASHINGTON 2516 2442 4958 -2.9%
WEST VIRGINIA 141 111 252 -21.3%
WISCONSIN 2082 1975 4057 -5.1%
WYOMING 84 55 139 -34.5%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 50 80 130 60.0%
PUERTO RICO 29 20 49 -31.0%
UNITED STATES 2 1 3 -50.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) ISLANDS 3 2 5 -33.3%
         
U.S. TOTALS 98598 94129 192727 -4.5%
         
ALGERIA 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
ANDORRA 1 1 2 0.0%
ANGOLA 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
ARAB EMIRATES 3 3 6 0.0%
ARGENTINA 70 50 120 -28.6%
ARMENIA 2 1 3 -50.0%
ARUBA 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
AUSTRALIA 1047 1093 2140 4.4%
AUSTRIA 639 575 1214 -10.0%
AZERBAIJAN 1 1 2 0.0%
THE BAHAMAS 11 8 19 -27.3%
BANGLADESH 1 0 1 -100.0%
BARBADOS 2 0 2 -100.0%
BELARUS 5 2 7 -60.0%
BELGIUM 727 678 1405 -6.7%
BERMUDA 8 1 9 -87.5%
BULGARIA 11 4 15 -63.6%
BRAZIL 180 161 341 -10.6%
CANADA 3893 3781 7674 -2.9%
CAYMAN ISLANDS 6 1 7 -83.3%
CHILE 15 18 33 20.0%
CHINA,HONG KONG S.A.R. 681 641 1322 -5.9%
CHINA P.REP. 424 597 1021 40.8%
COLOMBIA 11 11 22 0.0%
COSTA RICA 10 10 20 0.0%
CROATIA 13 9 22 -30.8%
CUBA 7 2 9 -71.4%
CYPRUS 0 2 2 No 2003 Patents
CZECH REPUBLIC 43 32 75 -25.6%
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
DENMARK 611 530 1141 -13.3%
ECUADOR 5 3 8 -40.0%
EGYPT 6 4 10 -33.3%
EL SALVADOR 1 1 2 0.0%
ESTONIA 3 2 5 -33.3%
FIJI 3 1 4 -66.7%
FINLAND 944 954 1898 1.1%
FRANCE 4127 3686 7813 -10.7%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF) 1 4 5 300.0%
GERMANY 12140 11367 23507 -6.4%
GREECE 23 15 38 -34.8%
GUATEMALA 3 0 3 -100.0%
HONDURAS 1 0 1 -100.0%
HUNGARY 72 52 124 -27.8%
ICELAND 16 21 37 31.3%
INDIA 355 376 731 5.9%
INDONESIA 12 23 35 91.7%
IRELAND 182 197 379 8.2%
ISRAEL 1260 1092 2352 -13.3%
ITALY 2022 1946 3968 -3.8%
IVORY COAST 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
JAMAICA 1 1 2 0.0%
JAPAN 37249 37034 74283 -0.6%
JORDAN 1 2 3 100.0%
KAZAKHSTAN 1 2 3 100.0%
KENYA 10 16 26 60.0%
KUWAIT 7 4 11 -42.9%
LATVIA 4 2 6 -50.0%
LEBANON 6 3 9 -50.0%
LIECHTENSTEIN 15 21 36 40.0%
LITHUANIA 1 3 4 200.0%
LUXEMBOURG 53 55 108 3.8%
MACAU 6 0 6 -100.0%
MACEDONIA 1 0 1 -100.0%
MALAYSIA 63 93 156 47.6%
MALTA 3 1 4 -66.7%
MEXICO 92 102 194 10.9%
MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF 1 4 5 300.0%
MONACO 10 12 22 20.0%
MOROCCO 1 1 2 0.0%
NETHERLANDS 1570 1537 3107 -2.1%
NEW ZEALAND 165 192 357 16.4%
NICARAGUA 1 0 1 -100.0%
NIGERIA 4 1 5 -75.0%
NORWAY 279 255 534 -8.6%
PAKISTAN 1 4 5 300.0%
PANAMA 3 2 5 -33.3%
PERU 4 6 10 50.0%
PHILIPPINES 25 21 46 -16.0%
POLAND 19 19 38 0.0%
PORTUGAL 12 17 29 41.7%
PALAU 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
ROMANIA 7 9 16 28.6%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 203 173 376 -14.8%
SAUDI ARABIA 19 15 34 -21.1%
SINGAPORE 460 485 945 5.4%
SLOVAKIA 6 5 11 -16.7%
SLOVENIA 19 24 43 26.3%
SOUTH AFRICA 131 115 246 -12.2%
SOUTH KOREA 4132 4671 8803 13.0%
SPAIN 358 312 670 -12.8%
SRI LANKA 4 3 7 -25.0%
SWEDEN 1629 1388 3017 -14.8%
SWITZERLAND 1433 1405 2838 -2.0%
SYRIA 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
TAIWAN 6676 7207 13883 8.0%
TANZANIA 2 0 2 -100.0%
THAILAND 47 28 75 -40.4%
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO 2 0 2 -100.0%
TUNISIA 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
TURKEY 32 19 51 -40.6%
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS 3 0 3 -100.0%
UKRAINE 15 21 36 40.0%
UNITED KINGDOM 4036 3905 7941 -3.2%
URUGUAY 2 0 2 -100.0%
UZBEKISTAN 0 1 1 No 2003 Patents
VENEZUELA 20 23 43 15.0%
VIET NAM 1 1 2 0.0%
VIRGIN (BRITISH) ISLANDS 7 8 15 14.3%
YUGOSLAVIA 2 1 3 -50.0%
ZIMBABWE 1 1 2 0.0%
         
FOREIGN TOTALS 88454 87193 175647 -1.4%
         
U.S. TOTALS 98598 94129 192727 -4.5%
FOREIGN TOTALS 88454 87193 175647 -1.4%
TOTAL 187052 181322 368374 -3.1%

Notes:

Counts include utility, design, plant, and reissue patents, and statutory invention registrations.

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


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