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U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Patent Technology Monitoring Team (PTMT)

# PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2009

(document dated 16-APR-2010)

In calendar year 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 167,349 utility, 23,116 design, 1,009 plant, and 453 reissue patents, and 6 statutory invention registrations for a total of 191,933 patent documents for the year.

Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 3.6 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2008 (185,244 grants in 2008). Calendar year 2009 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 167,349, a 6.1 percent increase above the total for 2008 (157,772).

In 2009, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 49.5 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2008 (49.7%). California-resident inventors claimed a 24.6 percent share (23,354 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from Texas (6.8 percent, 6,436 patents), New York (6.4 percent, 6,127 patents), Washington (5.1 percent, 4,856 patents), Massachusetts (4.2 percent, 4,038 patents), Illinois (3.8 percent, 3,615 patents), and Michigan (3.7 percent, 3,516 patents. U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2008 to 2009: Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and New Hampshire.

There were 12,696 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2009, down from the 2008 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (13,063). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 13.4 percent in 2009 from a 14.2 percent share in 2008.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 50.5 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2009. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2009 was 19.8 percent, unchanged from 2008. The 2009 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.4 percent, unchanged from 2008. For South Korean-resident inventors, the 2009 share was 5.0 percent, up from 4.7 percent in 2008 and the share for Taiwan-resident inventors was 4.1 percent for 2009, unchanged from 2008. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2009 include Bulgaria, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Greece, Liechtenstein, Austria, Chile and People's Republic of China.

The foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2009 are displayed in the table below. Following the table is a detail table that lists states and countries of patent origin and the percentage change in patenting from 2008 to 2009.

This table displays the thirteen foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2009. 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. Patent origin is based on the residence of the first-named inventor.
Rank in 2009 | Number of Patents in 2009 | Share of All Patents in 2009 | Country | (Rank in 2008) | (Number of patents in 2008) | (2008 to 2009) (Change in Number of patents)
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | 38,066 | 19.8% | Japan | (1) | (36,679) | ( 3.8% )
2 | 10,353 | 5.4% | Germany | (2) | (10,085) | ( 2.7% )
3 | 9,566 | 5.0% | South Korea | (3) | ( 8,730) | ( 9.6% )
4 | 7,781 | 4.1% | Taiwan | (4) | ( 7,779) | ( 0.0% )
5 | 4,393 | 2.3% | Canada | (5) | ( 4,125) | ( 6.5% )
6 | 4,011 | 2.1% | United Kingdom | (6) | ( 3,843) | ( 4.4% )
7 | 3,805 | 2.0% | France | (7) | ( 3,813) | ( -0.2% )
8 | 2,270 | 1.2% | China, People's Rep. | (9) | ( 1,874) | ( 21.1% )
9 | 1,837 | 1.0% | Italy | (8) | ( 1,916) | ( -4.1% )
10 | 1,558 | 0.8% | Netherlands | (10) | ( 1,725) | ( -9.7% )
11 | 1,550 | 0.8% | Australia | (11) | ( 1,613) | ( -3.9% )
12 | 1,525 | 0.8% | Israel | (13) | ( 1,312) | ( 16.2% )
13 | 1,454 | 0.8% | Switzerland | (12) | ( 1,403) | ( 3.6% )
| 95,037 | 49.5% | United States |  | ( 92,001) | ( 3.3% )
| 96,896 | 50.5% | All Foreign |  | ( 93,243) | ( 3.9% )
| 191,933 | 100.0% | All Countries |  | (185,244) | ( 3.6% )

## Annual Percentage Change in Patent Counts
By U.S. State and Country of Origin
Calendar Year 2008 to 2009

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 2008 to 2009. U.S., foreign, and overall totals are displayed at the beginning of the table. Patent origin is based on the residence of the first-named inventor.
State or Country |  | Number of Patents in 2008 | Number of Patents in 2009 | Number of Patents in 2008-2009 | Annual Percent Increase
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Total, U.S. And Foreign Origin |  | 185244 | 191933 | 377177 | 3.6%
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin |  | 92001 | 95037 | 187038 | 3.3%
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin |  | 93243 | 96896 | 190139 | 3.9%
ALABAMA |  | 354 | 377 | 731 | 6.5%
ALASKA |  | 28 | 55 | 83 | 96.4%
ARIZONA |  | 1892 | 1759 | 3651 | -7.0%
ARKANSAS |  | 152 | 154 | 306 | 1.3%
CALIFORNIA |  | 22203 | 23354 | 45557 | 5.2%
COLORADO |  | 1868 | 1968 | 3836 | 5.4%
CONNECTICUT |  | 1595 | 1661 | 3256 | 4.1%
DELAWARE |  | 353 | 342 | 695 | -3.1%
FLORIDA |  | 2808 | 2899 | 5707 | 3.2%
GEORGIA |  | 1586 | 1666 | 3252 | 5.0%
HAWAII |  | 101 | 96 | 197 | -5.0%
IDAHO |  | 1207 | 985 | 2192 | -18.4%
ILLINOIS |  | 3581 | 3615 | 7196 | 0.9%
INDIANA |  | 1196 | 1246 | 2442 | 4.2%
IOWA |  | 645 | 730 | 1375 | 13.2%
KANSAS |  | 544 | 509 | 1053 | -6.4%
KENTUCKY |  | 469 | 457 | 926 | -2.6%
LOUISIANA |  | 322 | 315 | 637 | -2.2%
MAINE |  | 136 | 130 | 266 | -4.4%
MARYLAND |  | 1429 | 1445 | 2874 | 1.1%
MASSACHUSETTS |  | 3897 | 4038 | 7935 | 3.6%
MICHIGAN |  | 3584 | 3516 | 7100 | -1.9%
MINNESOTA |  | 2869 | 2972 | 5841 | 3.6%
MISSISSIPPI |  | 142 | 144 | 286 | 1.4%
MISSOURI |  | 787 | 877 | 1664 | 11.4%
MONTANA |  | 115 | 91 | 206 | -20.9%
NEBRASKA |  | 214 | 226 | 440 | 5.6%
NEVADA |  | 464 | 426 | 890 | -8.2%
NEW HAMPSHIRE |  | 526 | 608 | 1134 | 15.6%
NEW JERSEY |  | 3247 | 3259 | 6506 | 0.4%
NEW MEXICO |  | 295 | 329 | 624 | 11.5%
NEW YORK |  | 5905 | 6127 | 12032 | 3.8%
NORTH CAROLINA |  | 2157 | 2298 | 4455 | 6.5%
NORTH DAKOTA |  | 72 | 92 | 164 | 27.8%
OHIO |  | 3156 | 3023 | 6179 | -4.2%
OKLAHOMA |  | 476 | 446 | 922 | -6.3%
OREGON |  | 2173 | 2014 | 4187 | -7.3%
PENNSYLVANIA |  | 2850 | 3066 | 5916 | 7.6%
RHODE ISLAND |  | 303 | 305 | 608 | 0.7%
SOUTH CAROLINA |  | 524 | 579 | 1103 | 10.5%
SOUTH DAKOTA |  | 60 | 56 | 116 | -6.7%
TENNESSEE |  | 798 | 785 | 1583 | -1.6%
TEXAS |  | 6184 | 6436 | 12620 | 4.1%
UTAH |  | 727 | 855 | 1582 | 17.6%
VERMONT |  | 514 | 500 | 1014 | -2.7%
VIRGINIA |  | 1183 | 1209 | 2392 | 2.2%
WASHINGTON |  | 4158 | 4856 | 9014 | 16.8%
WEST VIRGINIA |  | 91 | 102 | 193 | 12.1%
WISCONSIN |  | 1921 | 1887 | 3808 | -1.8%
WYOMING |  | 41 | 64 | 105 | 56.1%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |  | 71 | 62 | 133 | -12.7%
GUAM |  | 3 | 1 | 4 | -66.7%
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
PUERTO RICO |  | 18 | 20 | 38 | 11.1%
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS |  | 4 | 5 | 9 | 25.0%
U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION |  | 2 | 0 | 2 | -100.0%
JAPAN |  | 36679 | 38066 | 74745 | 3.8%
GERMANY |  | 10085 | 10353 | 20438 | 2.7%
KOREA, SOUTH |  | 8730 | 9566 | 18296 | 9.6%
TAIWAN |  | 7779 | 7781 | 15560 | 0.0%
CANADA |  | 4125 | 4393 | 8518 | 6.5%
UNITED KINGDOM |  | 3843 | 4011 | 7854 | 4.4%
FRANCE |  | 3813 | 3805 | 7618 | -0.2%
CHINA, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF |  | 1874 | 2270 | 4144 | 21.1%
ITALY |  | 1916 | 1837 | 3753 | -4.1%
NETHERLANDS |  | 1725 | 1558 | 3283 | -9.7%
AUSTRALIA |  | 1613 | 1550 | 3163 | -3.9%
SWITZERLAND |  | 1403 | 1454 | 2857 | 3.6%
ISRAEL |  | 1312 | 1525 | 2837 | 16.2%
SWEDEN |  | 1260 | 1231 | 2491 | -2.3%
FINLAND |  | 908 | 997 | 1905 | 9.8%
INDIA |  | 672 | 720 | 1392 | 7.1%
AUSTRIA |  | 575 | 767 | 1342 | 33.4%
BELGIUM |  | 605 | 707 | 1312 | 16.9%
CHINA,HONG KONG S.A.R. |  | 717 | 587 | 1304 | -18.1%
DENMARK |  | 566 | 537 | 1103 | -5.1%
SINGAPORE |  | 450 | 493 | 943 | 9.6%
SPAIN |  | 418 | 403 | 821 | -3.6%
NORWAY |  | 297 | 292 | 589 | -1.7%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION |  | 181 | 204 | 385 | 12.7%
IRELAND |  | 188 | 189 | 377 | 0.5%
NEW ZEALAND |  | 169 | 198 | 367 | 17.2%
MALAYSIA |  | 168 | 181 | 349 | 7.7%
BRAZIL |  | 133 | 148 | 281 | 11.3%
SOUTH AFRICA |  | 124 | 139 | 263 | 12.1%
MEXICO |  | 77 | 80 | 157 | 3.9%
HUNGARY |  | 72 | 48 | 120 | -33.3%
POLAND |  | 68 | 43 | 111 | -36.8%
CZECH REPUBLIC |  | 56 | 50 | 106 | -10.7%
ARGENTINA |  | 42 | 50 | 92 | 19.0%
LUXEMBOURG |  | 35 | 56 | 91 | 60.0%
THAILAND |  | 40 | 39 | 79 | -2.5%
TURKEY |  | 35 | 36 | 71 | 2.9%
GREECE |  | 25 | 39 | 64 | 56.0%
BULGARIA |  | 18 | 37 | 55 | 105.6%
SAUDI ARABIA |  | 31 | 23 | 54 | -25.8%
ICELAND |  | 27 | 24 | 51 | -11.1%
PORTUGAL |  | 31 | 19 | 50 | -38.7%
PHILIPPINES |  | 22 | 25 | 47 | 13.6%
CHILE |  | 20 | 26 | 46 | 30.0%
SLOVENIA |  | 15 | 27 | 42 | 80.0%
INDONESIA |  | 19 | 18 | 37 | -5.3%
LIECHTENSTEIN |  | 15 | 22 | 37 | 46.7%
UKRAINE |  | 21 | 16 | 37 | -23.8%
CROATIA |  | 17 | 18 | 35 | 5.9%
COSTA RICA |  | 13 | 18 | 31 | 38.5%
KUWAIT |  | 15 | 15 | 30 | 0.0%
SLOVAKIA |  | 12 | 16 | 28 | 33.3%
VENEZUELA |  | 16 | 11 | 27 | -31.3%
COLOMBIA |  | 13 | 9 | 22 | -30.8%
ROMANIA |  | 12 | 8 | 20 | -33.3%
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES |  | 10 | 9 | 19 | -10.0%
LITHUANIA |  | 13 | 3 | 16 | -76.9%
MONACO |  | 8 | 7 | 15 | -12.5%
BELARUS |  | 7 | 5 | 12 | -28.6%
KENYA |  | 4 | 7 | 11 | 75.0%
THE BAHAMAS |  | 4 | 6 | 10 | 50.0%
CUBA |  | 6 | 4 | 10 | -33.3%
PAKISTAN |  | 7 | 3 | 10 | -57.1%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |  | 3 | 6 | 9 | 100.0%
ECUADOR |  | 2 | 6 | 8 | 200.0%
IRAN |  | 2 | 6 | 8 | 200.0%
LEBANON |  | 2 | 6 | 8 | 200.0%
MALTA |  | 2 | 6 | 8 | 200.0%
PERU |  | 5 | 3 | 8 | -40.0%
SRI LANKA |  | 2 | 6 | 8 | 200.0%
ESTONIA |  | 3 | 4 | 7 | 33.3%
ISLE OF MAN |  | 3 | 4 | 7 | 33.3%
JAMAICA |  | 4 | 3 | 7 | -25.0%
MOROCCO |  | 4 | 3 | 7 | -25.0%
URUGUAY |  | 2 | 5 | 7 | 150.0%
ANDORRA |  | 1 | 5 | 6 | 400.0%
BARBADOS |  | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.0%
LATVIA |  | 1 | 5 | 6 | 400.0%
OMAN |  | 5 | 1 | 6 | -80.0%
SERBIA |  | 4 | 2 | 6 | -50.0%
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS |  | 1 | 4 | 5 | 300.0%
CYPRUS |  | 1 | 4 | 5 | 300.0%
EGYPT |  | 2 | 3 | 5 | 50.0%
GUATEMALA |  | 5 | 0 | 5 | -100.0%
PANAMA |  | 3 | 2 | 5 | -33.3%
CAYMAN ISLANDS |  | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.0%
CHINA, MACAU S.A.R. |  | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.0%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF) |  | 3 | 1 | 4 | -66.7%
ZIMBABWE |  | 0 | 4 | 4 | No 2008 Patents
GREENLAND |  | 0 | 3 | 3 | No 2008 Patents
QATAR |  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 100.0%
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO |  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 100.0%
ARMENIA |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0%
AZERBAIJAN |  | 2 | 0 | 2 | -100.0%
BOLIVIA |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0%
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0%
GIBRALTAR |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0%
KAZAKHSTAN |  | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0%
TUNISIA |  | 2 | 0 | 2 | -100.0%
VIET NAM |  | 0 | 2 | 2 | No 2008 Patents
ANGUILLA |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
BELIZE |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
BRUNEI |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
BURKINA FASO |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
CAMEROON |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
CHAD |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
FRENCH POLYNESIA |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
GUERNSEY |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
IRAQ |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
JORDAN |  | 0 | 1 | 1 | No 2008 Patents
KYRGYZSTAN |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
MACEDONIA |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
MAURITIUS |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
NAMIBIA |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
NIGERIA |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%
SEYCHELLES |  | 1 | 0 | 1 | -100.0%

## Contact Information -

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> Electronic Information Products Division - PTMT
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> Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

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> e-mail:oeip@uspto.gov

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> selected PTMT reports available for download at : http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/data/

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