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Collage showing images with one-word descriptors from the U S P T O Fiscal Year 2009 Performance and Accountability Report cover that reinforces the report’s tagline of Today’s Challenges – Tomorrow’s Solutions.
Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2009
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Table of Contents | Management | Financial | Auditor | IG | Other

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF PATENT EXAMINING ACTIVITIES

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF PATENT EXAMINING ACTIVITIES
(FY 2005 - FY 2009)

(PRELIMINARY FOR FY 2009)Read Footnote 11
Patent Examining Activity 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Applications filed, totalRead Footnote 11,Read Footnote 22 409,532 445,613 468,330 496,886 485,500
UtilityRead Footnote 33 381,797 417,453 439,578 466,258 457,966
Reissue   1,143   1,204   1,057   1,080     961
Plant   1,288   1,103   1,002   1,331     992
Design  25,304  25,853  26,693  28,217  25,581

Provisional Applications FiledRead Footnote 22,Read Footnote 44		 111,753 121,471 132,459 143,034 134,435

First actions
Design  20,108  23,291  29,029  28,756  27,858
Utility, Plant, and Reissue 297,287 320,349 367,953 422,065 469,946
PCT/Chapter  22,795  25,034  24,741  51,300  20,797

Patent application disposals, total		 298,838 332,535 362,227 396,228 487,140

Allowed patent applications, total		 182,254 186,593 195,530 187,607 214,523
Design  18,161  20,721  25,747  24,735  25,403
Utility, Plant, and Reissue 164,093 165,872 169,783 162,872 189,120

Abandoned, total		 116,564 145,912 166,690 208,610 272,607
Design   1,332   2,125   2,661   2,936   3,840
Utility, Plant, and Reissue 115,232 143,787 164,029 205,674 268,767

Statutory invention registration disposals, total		      20      30       7      11      10

PCT/Chapter II examinations completed 		 12,594   7,295   5,336   2,937   3,468

Applications PublishedRead Footnote 55		 291,221 291,259 302,678 309,194 325,988

Patents issuedRead Footnote 22,Read Footnote 66		 165,483 183,187 184,376 182,556 190,121
Utility 151,077 162,509 160,306 154,699 165,212
Reissue     195     500     548     662     398
Plant     816   1,106     979   1,179   1,096
Design  13,395  19,072  22,543  26,016  23,415

Pendency time of average patent applicationRead Footnote 77		    29.1    31.1    31.9    32.2    34.6
Reexamination certificates issued     223     329     367     575     698
PCT international applications received by USPTO as receiving office  46,926  52,524  54,214  54,488  47,572
National requirements received by USPTO as designated/elected office  41,256  48,158  52,339  57,345  57,879
Patents renewed under Public Law (Pub.L.) 102-204Read Footnote 88 268,935 324,913 343,894 353,923 304,096
Patents expired under Pub.L. 102-204Read Footnote 88  67,534  72,654  67,122  67,127  66,330

Notes:

1: FY 2009 data are preliminary and will be finalized in the FY 2010 PAR. (back to text)

2: FY 2008 application data has been updated with final end of year numbers. (back to text)

3: Utility patents include chemical, electrical and mechanical applications. (back to text)

4: Provisional applications provided for in Pub.L. 103-465. (back to text)

5: Eighteen-month publication of patent applications provided for in the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, Pub.L. 106-113. (back to text)

6: Excludes withdrawn numbers. Past years’ data may have been revised from prior year reports. (back to text)

7: Average time (in months) between filing and issuance or abandonment of utility, plant, and reissue applications. This average does not include design patents. (back to text)

8: The provisions of Pub.L. 102-204 regarding the renewal of patents superceded Pub.L. 96-517 and Pub.L. 97-247. (back to text)
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