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


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2007

(document dated 21-FEB-2008)

In calendar year 2007, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 157,283 utility, 24,063 design, 1,047 plant, and 508 reissue patents, and 29 statutory invention registrations for a total of 182,930 patent documents for the year. Annual grants of all patent documents decreased by 6.9 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2006 (196,437 grants in 2006). Calendar year 2007 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 157,283, a 9.5 percent decrease below the total for 2006 (173,772).

In 2007, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 51.2 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2006 (52.1%). California-resident inventors claimed a 24.1 percent share (22,601 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from Texas (6.6 percent, 6,228 patents), New York (6.4 percent, 6,025 patents), Washington (4.2 percent, 3,894 patents), Massachusetts (4.1 percent, 3,837 patents), Illinois (4.0 percent, 3,712 patents), and Michigan (3.9 percent, 3,695 patents). U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2006 to 2007: Mississippi, North Dakota, Vermont, Puerto Rico and Wyoming.

There were 13,773 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2007, down from the 2006 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (15,247). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 14.7 percent in 2007 from a 14.9 percent share in 2006.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 48.8 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2007. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2006 was 19.6 percent, down from 20.1 percent in 2006. The 2007 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.5 percent, the same percent as in 2006. For Taiwan-resident inventors, the 2007 share was 4.1 percent, up from 4.0 percent in 2006 and the share for South Korean-resident inventors jumped from 3.3 percent for 2006 to 4.0 percent for 2007. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2007 include Chile, Luxembourg, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, and Poland.

The ten foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2007 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 2006 to 2007.

This table displays the ten foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2007. 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 2007
Number
of Patents
in 2007
Share of
All Patents
in 2007
Country * (Rank
in 2006)
(Number
of patents
in 2006)
(2006 to 2007)
(Change in Number
of patents)
1 35,942 19.6% Japan (1) (39,411) ( -8.8% )
2 10,012 5.5% Germany (2) (10,889) ( -8.1% )
3 7,491 4.1% Taiwan (3) (7,919) ( -5.4% )
4 7,264 4.0% South Korea (4) (6,509) ( 11.6% )
5 4,031 2.2% United Kingdom (5) (4,329) ( -6.9% )
6 3,970 2.2% Canada (6) (4,094) ( -3.0% )
7 3,720 2.0% France (7) (3,856) ( -3.5% )
8 1,836 1.0% Italy (8) (1,899) ( -3.3% )
9 1,596 0.9% Netherlands (9) (1,647) ( -3.1% )
10 1,546 0.8% Australia (10) (1,538) ( 0.5% )
             
  93,691 51.2% United States  (102,267) ( -8.4% )
  182,930 100.0% All Countries  (196,437) ( -6.9% )

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 2006 to 2007

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 2006 to 2007. 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 beginning of the table.
State or Country *   Number
of Patents
in 2006
Number
of Patents
in 2007
Number
of Patents
in 2006-2007
Annual Percent
Increase
Total, U.S. And Foreign Origin   196437 182930 379367 -6.9%
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin   102267 93691 195958 -8.4%
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin   94170 89239 183409 -5.2%
           
ALABAMA   430 358 788 -16.7%
ALASKA   45 24 69 -46.7%
ARIZONA   1893 1826 3719 -3.5%
ARKANSAS   185 169 354 -8.6%
CALIFORNIA   25043 22601 47644 -9.8%
COLORADO   2349 1983 4332 -15.6%
CONNECTICUT   1857 1611 3468 -13.2%
DELAWARE   396 359 755 -9.3%
FLORIDA   3264 3092 6356 -5.3%
GEORGIA   1719 1580 3299 -8.1%
HAWAII   101 82 183 -18.8%
IDAHO   1717 1388 3105 -19.2%
ILLINOIS   4053 3712 7765 -8.4%
INDIANA   1499 1385 2884 -7.6%
IOWA   732 664 1396 -9.3%
KANSAS   581 523 1104 -10.0%
KENTUCKY   471 505 976 7.2%
LOUISIANA   365 294 659 -19.5%
MAINE   156 126 282 -19.2%
MARYLAND   1558 1409 2967 -9.6%
MASSACHUSETTS   4369 3837 8206 -12.2%
MICHIGAN   4179 3695 7874 -11.6%
MINNESOTA   3268 2920 6188 -10.6%
MISSISSIPPI   153 184 337 20.3%
MISSOURI   863 861 1724 -0.2%
MONTANA   136 131 267 -3.7%
NEBRASKA   239 254 493 6.3%
NEVADA   472 468 940 -0.8%
NEW HAMPSHIRE   657 618 1275 -5.9%
NEW JERSEY   3628 3154 6782 -13.1%
NEW MEXICO   354 304 658 -14.1%
NEW YORK   6408 6025 12433 -6.0%
NORTH CAROLINA   2233 2007 4240 -10.1%
NORTH DAKOTA   77 92 169 19.5%
OHIO   3295 3062 6357 -7.1%
OKLAHOMA   583 526 1109 -9.8%
OREGON   2536 2282 4818 -10.0%
PENNSYLVANIA   3191 2987 6178 -6.4%
RHODE ISLAND   354 380 734 7.3%
SOUTH CAROLINA   691 542 1233 -21.6%
SOUTH DAKOTA   79 66 145 -16.5%
TENNESSEE   817 793 1610 -2.9%
TEXAS   6717 6228 12945 -7.3%
UTAH   800 766 1566 -4.3%
VERMONT   486 546 1032 12.3%
VIRGINIA   1232 1165 2397 -5.4%
WASHINGTON   3620 3894 7514 7.6%
WEST VIRGINIA   111 116 227 4.5%
WISCONSIN   2151 1928 4079 -10.4%
WYOMING   56 62 118 10.7%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA   69 71 140 2.9%
GUAM   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
PUERTO RICO   26 29 55 11.5%
UNITED STATES   2 3 5 50.0%
VIRGIN (U.S.) ISLANDS   1 3 4 200.0%
           
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin   102267 93691 195958 -8.4%
           
JAPAN   39411 35942 75353 -8.8%
GERMANY   10889 10012 20901 -8.1%
TAIWAN   7920 7491 15411 -5.4%
SOUTH KOREA   6509 7264 13773 11.6%
UNITED KINGDOM   4329 4031 8360 -6.9%
CANADA   4094 3970 8064 -3.0%
FRANCE   3856 3720 7576 -3.5%
ITALY   1899 1836 3735 -3.3%
NETHERLANDS   1647 1596 3243 -3.1%
AUSTRALIA   1538 1546 3084 0.5%
SWITZERLAND   1388 1280 2668 -7.8%
SWEDEN   1360 1278 2638 -6.0%
ISRAEL   1325 1219 2544 -8.0%
CHINA P.REP.   970 1235 2205 27.3%
FINLAND   1005 943 1948 -6.2%
CHINA,HONG KONG S.A.R.   753 756 1509 0.4%
BELGIUM   720 624 1344 -13.3%
AUSTRIA   626 553 1179 -11.7%
INDIA   506 578 1084 14.2%
DENMARK   546 511 1057 -6.4%
SINGAPORE   469 451 920 -3.8%
SPAIN   381 363 744 -4.7%
NORWAY   272 286 558 5.1%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION   176 193 369 9.7%
IRELAND   198 161 359 -18.7%
NEW ZEALAND   173 165 338 -4.6%
MALAYSIA   131 173 304 32.1%
BRAZIL   148 118 266 -20.3%
SOUTH AFRICA   127 116 243 -8.7%
MEXICO   88 88 176 0.0%
LUXEMBOURG   49 66 115 34.7%
HUNGARY   49 55 104 12.2%
ARGENTINA   47 53 100 12.8%
CZECH REPUBLIC   37 41 78 10.8%
POLAND   31 39 70 25.8%
THAILAND   42 25 67 -40.5%
PHILIPPINES   35 21 56 -40.0%
TURKEY   25 24 49 -4.0%
GREECE   23 25 48 8.7%
SLOVENIA   24 22 46 -8.3%
COSTA RICA   26 17 43 -34.6%
ICELAND   24 19 43 -20.8%
CHILE   14 27 41 92.9%
SAUDI ARABIA   20 20 40 0.0%
UKRAINE   25 12 37 -52.0%
VENEZUELA   15 17 32 13.3%
INDONESIA   16 15 31 -6.3%
PORTUGAL   17 14 31 -17.6%
CROATIA   14 16 30 14.3%
LIECHTENSTEIN   20 9 29 -55.0%
MONACO   13 12 25 -7.7%
ROMANIA   9 12 21 33.3%
LITHUANIA   11 6 17 -45.0%
EGYPT   4 12 16 200.0%
KUWAIT   7 8 15 14.3%
BELARUS   5 9 14 80.0%
SLOVAKIA   4 9 13 125.0%
THE BAHAMAS   7 5 12 -28.6%
CAYMAN ISLANDS   0 12 12 No 2006 Patents
COLOMBIA   7 5 12 -28.6%
ESTONIA   2 10 12 400.0%
ARAB EMIRATES   9 2 11 -77.8%
BULGARIA   4 7 11 75.0%
CYPRUS   4 4 8 0.0%
ECUADOR   3 5 8 66.7%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF)   3 5 8 66.7%
BERMUDA   2 5 7 150.0%
LEBANON   2 5 7 150.0%
PAKISTAN   2 5 7 150.0%
SRI LANKA   3 3 6 0.0%
VIRGIN (BRITISH) ISLANDS   5 1 6 -80.0%
SERBIA   0 6 6 No 2006 Patents
CUBA   2 3 5 50.0%
IRAN   2 3 5 50.0%
LATVIA   2 3 5 50.0%
PERU   3 2 5 -33.3%
URUGUAY   2 3 5 50.0%
BARBADOS   3 1 4 -66.7%
DOMINICAN REPL.   2 2 4 0.0%
KAZAKHSTAN   1 3 4 200.0%
KENYA   3 1 4 -66.7%
MALTA   2 2 4 0.0%
MOROCCO   3 1 4 -66.7%
SAMOA   0 4 4 No 2006 Patents
SYRIA   3 1 4 -66.7%
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO   3 1 4 -66.7%
ARMENIA   2 1 3 -50.0%
AZERBAIJAN   1 2 3 100.0%
GIBRALTAR   1 2 3 100.0%
JORDAN   1 2 3 100.0%
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS   1 2 3 100.0%
YUGOSLAVIA   2 1 3 -50.0%
HONDURAS   1 1 2 0.0%
MACAU   2 0 2 -100.0%
MYANMAR   0 2 2 No 2006 Patents
QATAR   2 0 2 -100.0%
TUNISIA   2 0 2 -100.0%
ZIMBABWE   1 1 2 0.0%
SEYCHELLES   2 0 2 -100.0%
ALGERIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
ANDORRA   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
ANGUILLA   1 0 1 -100.0%
BANGLADESH   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
BENIN   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
CAMEROON   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
EL SALVADOR   1 0 1 -100.0%
ETHIOPIA   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
FIJI   1 0 1 -100.0%
FR. POLYNESIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
GABON   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
GHANA   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
GUATEMALA   1 0 1 -100.0%
JAMAICA   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
NETH. ANTILLES   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
NIGERIA   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
PARAGUAY   1 0 1 -100.0%
UZBEKISTAN   1 0 1 -100.0%
VIET NAM   0 1 1 No 2006 Patents
           
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin   94170 89239 183409 -5.2%

Notes:

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


Contact Information -

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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Electronic Information Products Division - PTMT
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