USPTO reports and Economic Notes

Published official reports on a variety of domestic and international intellectual property (IP) issues including the role of IP in the economy, IP policy, IP litigation and United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) operations. 

COVID-19 text on a blue background.

Diagnosing COVID-19: A perspective from U.S. patenting activity

October 2023
Read the USPTO report
Listen to the AUTM on the Air podcast (Episode: "Behind the Numbers: Insights from U.S. Patenting on Diagnosing COVID-19")

This study is part of an emerging body of work that seeks to understand the workings of the innovation system in times of crisis. It focuses on U.S. patenting activity to gauge the extent and nature of innovation related to the diagnosis of COVID-19.

More information
National innovation systems were surprisingly responsive to the urgent needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid introduction of COVID-19 diagnostics shortly after the onset of the pandemic allowed individuals to better monitor their health, and provided policy makers with crucial information needed to manage the public health crisis. Our study reveals that U.S. applicants, especially universities and small companies, led the way in developing methods to diagnose COVID-19, as evidenced by public U.S. patent filings through April 2023. Those organizations were also more likely to use government support, especially from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
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A graph that shows bars for micro, small, and undiscounted COVID-19 public patent filings, grouped left to right by company, individual, university/research/hospital, and government.

Office of the Chief Economist Economic Note Number 103

Employment in IP-intensive industries during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

March 2023
Read the Economic Note, Issue 103

In this Economic Note we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment, with a special focus on those industries that most intensively use various forms of intellectual property (IP).


Office of the Chief Economist Economic Note Number 102

USPTO pilot program reduced gender disparities in patenting

November 2022
Read the IP Economic Note, Issue 102
Read the working paper

This IP Economic Note examines the causal impacts from the first randomized control trial (RCT) undertaken by the USPTO.

 

Where are U.S. women patentees? Assessing three decades of growth

Where are U.S. women patentees? Assessing three decades of growth

October 2022
IP Data Highlights No. 6
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Supplementary material
Women Patentees by County Map, 1990-1992
Women Patentees by County Map, 2017-2019

The report provides a U.S. county-level analysis of women’s patenting from 1990 to 2019 .

 
Office of the Chief Economist Economic Note Number 101

Exports and imports by U.S. IP-intensive industries

June 2022
Issue 101
Read the IP Economic Note

This IP Economic Note considers the foreign trade activities of industries that most intensely use IP.                                                             

 
Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Third Edition report cover art

Intellectual property and the U.S. economy: Third edition

March 2022
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IP and the U.S. economy webpage
Supplementary material

This report on intellectual property (IP) and the U.S. economy builds on reports published in 2012 and 2016. It provides an update on the importance of IP-intensive industries to the U.S. economy and takes a fresh look at the approach used to determine those results.


IP Data Highlights no. 5: Inventing AI, text on a green background.

Inventing AI: Tracing the diffusion of artificial intelligence with U.S. patents

October 2020
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Additional infographics »
Supplementary material » 

A U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report, titled "Inventing AI: Tracing the diffusion of AI with U.S. patents," finds that AI is diffusing broadly across technologies, inventor-patentees, companies, and U.S. geography. Read the report.


IP Data Highlight no. 4: Progress and Potential report, text on a purple background.

Progress and Potential: 2020 update on U.S. women inventor-patentees

July 2020
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Progress and Potential webpage

A USPTO study updates the 2019 report and finds, among other things, that women make up an increasing share of all new entrants to the patent system, rising from about 5% of new inventor-patentees in 1980 to 17.3% by 2019. 

 


 IP Data Highlight no. 3: Adjusting to Alice report, text on a blue background.

Adjusting to Alice: USPTO patent examination outcomes after Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International

April 2020
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Press release »
Supplementary material »

The 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International significantly increased the percentage of Section 101 rejections in first office actions received by patent applicants and, importantly, increased the degree of uncertainty facing applicants in the examination process. 

 


mashup of patent art and Inventors Hall of Fame inductees

Report to Congress pursuant to P.L. 115-273, the SUCCESS Act

October 2019
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SUCCESS Act webpage

A USPTO report finds that inventors who apply for and receive a patent may experience a wide range of personal benefits, including heightened prestige, increased income, promotions, new job opportunities, and increased professional networks. 

 


IP Data Highlights no. 2: Progress and Potential, text on a purple background.

Progress and Potential: A profile of women inventors on U.S. Patents

February 2019
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Progress and Potential webpage 

The USPTO released a report on the trends and characteristics of U.S. women inventors named on U.S. patents granted from 1976 through 2016. The report shows that women still comprise a small minority of patent inventors. Further, it highlights the untapped potential of women to spur U.S. innovation.

 


 IP Data Highlights no. 1: International collaboration and ownership on patents issued to Chinese inventors, text on a yellow background.

International collaboration and ownership on patents issued to Chinese inventors

April 2018
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This report examines collaboration and ownership patterns on U.S. patents granted to Chinese inventors from 2000 through 2016. The analysis uses data on inventor residence and owner location from the Patent Examination Research Dataset (PatEx) and PatentsView, a web-based data resource supported by OCE. 

 

Additional reports