U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Information Products Division
Technology Assessment and Forecast (TAF) Branch
Explanation of Data --
Patenting By Geographic Region (State and Country)
Breakout By Organization
Utility Patent Grants By Calendar Year of Grant
This report, prepared from the Technology Assessment and Forecast (TAF) database,
profiles utility patents (i.e., patents for inventions) granted during
the indicated time period. Each displayed annual count corresponds to patents granted during
the calendar year time period extending from January 1 to December 31 of that year.
Geographic Origin
Patent origin is determined by the residence of the
first-named inventor listed on the patent grant. A regional report
counts only patents originating from the selected region. Consolidated regional
reports that combine data from several regions into a single
report are also available for the following: (1) patents originating from all regions,
(2) patents of U.S. origin, and (3) patents of foreign origin.
Listing of Patent Assignees (Owners)
Reports listing organizations
(national and international corporations, universities, government agencies,
businesses, and other organizations) receiving 5 or more utility
patents during the time period are presented. For reports covering consolidated
regions, organizations receiving 100 or more patents during the period are presented.
In each of these regional reports, organizations are listed in order of decreasing
patent counts. Annual patent counts are displayed for each year of the time period.
Patent ownership information reflects ownership at the time of patent grant and
does not include subsequent changes in ownership. If more than one assignee was declared
at the time of grant, patent ownership is attributed to the first-named assignee.
No attempt has been made to combine data based on subsidiary relationships. However,
where possible, spelling variations and variations based on name changes
(e.g., ESSO to EXXON) have been merged into a single name. While every effort is
made to accurately identify all organizational entities and report data by a single
organizational name, achievement of a totally clean record is not expected, particularly
in view of the many variations which may occur in corporate identifications.
Please note that in the report listings of patent assignees, the assignee entry
~Individually Owned Patent
may appear. This entry corresponds to (1) patents for which ownership was unassigned at the
time of grant and (2) patents for which ownership was assigned to an individual at
the time of grant (i.e., ownership assignment was not made to an organization).
Analyzing the Data
Use of spreadsheet software may facilitate analysis of the data contained in these
reports. Users should note that many spreadsheet software programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel)
can import these report files directly. Check the spreadsheet software documentation for details.
TAF Contacts
Questions regarding these reports should be directed to:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Information Products Division - TAF Branch
PK3- Suite 441
Washington, DC 20231
tel: (703) 306-2600
FAX: (703) 306-2737
email oeip@uspto.gov
address of TAF Internet pages : http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/tafp.html
ftp download of TAF reports from : ftp.uspto.gov/pub/taf/
Last modified 29 April 2002