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


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2010

(document dated 19-JAN-2011)

In calendar year 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 219,614 utility, 22,799 design, 981 plant, 947 reissue patents, and 17 statutory invention registrations for a total of 244,358 patent documents for the year. Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 27.3 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2009 (191,933 grants in 2009). Calendar year 2010 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 219,614, a 31.2 percent increase above the total for 2009 (167,349).

In 2010, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 49.6 percent, a slight increase from the U.S. share for 2009 (49.5%). California-resident inventors claimed a 24.8 percent share (30,080 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from New York (6.7 percent, 8,095 patents), Texas (6.6 percent, 8,027 patents), Washington (4.8 percent, 5,810 patents), Massachusetts (4.3 percent, 5,261 patents), Illinois (3.6 percent, 4,374 patents), New Jersey (3.6 percent, 4,345 patents), and Michigan (3.5 percent, 4277 patents). U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2009 to 2010: Maine, Hawaii, Nevada, South Dakota, Kansas, Virginia, and Alabama.

There were 16,049 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2010, up from the 2009 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (12,697). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 13.2 percent in 2010 from a 13.4 percent share in 2009.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 50.4 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2010. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2010 was 19.2 percent, down from 19.8 in 2009. The 2010 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.6 percent, up from 5.4 percent in 2009. For South Korean-resident inventors, the 2010 share was 5.1 percent, up from 5.0 percent in 2009 and the share for Taiwan-resident inventors was 3.9 percent for 2010, down from 4.1 in 2009. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2010 include Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Philippines, India, Thailand, Brazil, Norway, People's Republic of China, and Ireland.

The foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2010 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 2009 to 2010.

 

This table displays the fourteen foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2010. 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 2010
Number
of Patents
in 2010
Share of
All Patents
in 2010
Country (Rank
in 2009)
(Number
of patents
in 2009)
(2009 to 2010)
(Change in Number
of patents)
1 46,978 19.2% Japan (1) (38,066) (23.4%)
2 13,633 5.6% Germany (2) (10,353) (31.7%)
3 12,508 5.1% South Korea (3) (9,566) (30.8%)
4 9,635 3.9% Taiwan (4) (7,781) (23.8%)
5 5,513 2.3% Canada (5) (4,393) (25.5%)
6 5,100 2.1% France (7) (3,805) (34.0%)
7 5,038 2.1% United Kingdom (6) (4,011) (25.7%)
8 3,303 1.4% China, People's Rep. (8) (2,270) (45.5%)
9 2,254 0.9% Italy (9) (1,837) (22.7%)
10 2,079 0.9% Australia (11) (1,550) (34.1%)
11 1,919 0.8% Netherlands (10) (1,558) (23.2%)
12 1,917 0.8% Israel (12) (1,525) (25.7%)
13 1,889 0.8% Switzerland (13) (1,454) (29.9%)
14 1,594 0.7% Sweden (14) (1,231) (29.5%)
             
  121,179 49.6% United States  ( 95,038) ( 27.5% )
  123,179 50.4% All Foreign  ( 96,895) ( 27.1% )
  244,358 100.0% All Countries  (191,933) ( 27.3% )

Annual Percentage Change in Patent Counts
By U.S. State and Country of Origin
Calendar Year 2009 to 2010

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 2009 to 2010. 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 2009
Number
of Patents
in 2010
Number
of Patents
in 2009-2010
Annual Percent
Increase
Total, U.S. And Foreign Origin   191933 244358 436291 27.3%
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin   95038 121179 216217 27.5%
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin   96895 123179 220074 27.1%
           
ALABAMA   377 538 915 42.7%
ALASKA   55 33 88 -40.0%
ARIZONA   1759 2169 3928 23.3%
ARKANSAS   154 216 370 40.3%
CALIFORNIA   23356 30080 53436 28.8%
COLORADO   1966 2436 4402 23.9%
CONNECTICUT   1661 2111 3772 27.1%
DELAWARE   343 391 734 14.0%
FLORIDA   2899 3724 6623 28.5%
GEORGIA   1666 2194 3860 31.7%
HAWAII   96 144 240 50.0%
IDAHO   985 1162 2147 18.0%
ILLINOIS   3615 4374 7989 21.0%
INDIANA   1246 1697 2943 36.2%
IOWA   730 809 1539 10.8%
KANSAS   509 728 1237 43.0%
KENTUCKY   457 601 1058 31.5%
LOUISIANA   315 355 670 12.7%
MAINE   130 220 350 69.2%
MARYLAND   1445 1732 3177 19.9%
MASSACHUSETTS   4038 5261 9299 30.3%
MICHIGAN   3516 4277 7793 21.6%
MINNESOTA   2972 4005 6977 34.8%
MISSISSIPPI   144 172 316 19.4%
MISSOURI   877 1140 2017 30.0%
MONTANA   91 118 209 29.7%
NEBRASKA   226 253 479 11.9%
NEVADA   426 639 1065 50.0%
NEW HAMPSHIRE   608 802 1410 31.9%
NEW JERSEY   3259 4345 7604 33.3%
NEW MEXICO   329 455 784 38.3%
NEW YORK   6127 8095 14222 32.1%
NORTH CAROLINA   2298 2922 5220 27.2%
NORTH DAKOTA   92 112 204 21.7%
OHIO   3023 3983 7006 31.8%
OKLAHOMA   446 582 1028 30.5%
OREGON   2014 2340 4354 16.2%
PENNSYLVANIA   3066 3889 6955 26.8%
RHODE ISLAND   305 354 659 16.1%
SOUTH CAROLINA   579 652 1231 12.6%
SOUTH DAKOTA   56 82 138 46.4%
TENNESSEE   785 1037 1822 32.1%
TEXAS   6436 8027 14463 24.7%
UTAH   856 1145 2001 33.8%
VERMONT   500 668 1168 33.6%
VIRGINIA   1209 1726 2935 42.8%
WASHINGTON   4855 5810 10665 19.7%
WEST VIRGINIA   102 134 236 31.4%
WISCONSIN   1887 2232 4119 18.3%
WYOMING   64 89 153 39.1%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA   62 87 149 40.3%
GUAM   1 0 1 -100.0%
PUERTO RICO   20 28 48 40.0%
U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION   0 2 2 No 2009 Patents
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   5 2 7 -60.0%
           
ALGERIA   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
ANDORRA   5 7 12 40.0%
ANGUILLA   1 0 1 -100.0%
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
ARGENTINA   50 59 109 18.0%
ARMENIA   1 2 3 100.0%
AUSTRALIA   1550 2079 3629 34.1%
AUSTRIA   767 905 1672 18.0%
BAHRAIN   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
BARBADOS   3 3 6 0.0%
BELARUS   5 7 12 40.0%
BELGIUM   707 896 1603 26.7%
BELIZE   1 0 1 -100.0%
BERMUDA   0 3 3 No 2009 Patents
BOLIVIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA   1 0 1 -100.0%
BRAZIL   148 219 367 48.0%
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS   4 0 4 -100.0%
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM   1 0 1 -100.0%
BULGARIA   37 60 97 62.2%
BURKINA FASO   1 0 1 -100.0%
CAMEROON   1 4 5 300.0%
CANADA   4393 5513 9906 25.5%
CAYMAN ISLANDS   2 4 6 100.0%
CHILE   26 27 53 3.8%
CHINA, MACAU S.A.R.   2 1 3 -50.0%
CHINA, PEOPLE'S REP.   2270 3303 5573 45.5%
CHINA, HONG KONG S.A.R.   587 716 1303 22.0%
COLOMBIA   9 9 18 0.0%
COSTA RICA   18 11 29 -38.9%
CROATIA   18 9 27 -50.0%
CUBA   4 8 12 100.0%
CYPRUS   4 4 8 0.0%
CZECH REPUBLIC   50 81 131 62.0%
DENMARK   537 766 1303 42.6%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   6 2 8 -66.7%
ECUADOR   6 2 8 -66.7%
EGYPT   3 20 23 566.7%
EL SALVADOR   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
ESTONIA   4 15 19 275.0%
FINLAND   997 1232 2229 23.6%
FRANCE   3805 5100 8905 34.0%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF)   1 2 3 100.0%
GERMANY   10352 13633 23985 31.7%
GHANA   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
GIBRALTAR   1 0 1 -100.0%
GREECE   39 54 93 38.5%
GREENLAND   3 0 3 -100.0%
GUATEMALA   0 2 2 No 2009 Patents
GUERNSEY   1 1 2 0.0%
HUNGARY   48 98 146 104.2%
ICELAND   24 25 49 4.2%
INDIA   720 1137 1857 57.9%
INDONESIA   18 6 24 -66.7%
IRAN   6 8 14 33.3%
IRELAND   189 275 464 45.5%
ISLE OF MAN   6 4 10 -33.3%
ISRAEL   1525 1917 3442 25.7%
ITALY   1837 2254 4091 22.7%
JAMAICA   3 4 7 33.3%
JAPAN   38066 46978 85044 23.4%
JERSEY   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
JORDAN   1 1 2 0.0%
KAZAKHSTAN   1 1 2 0.0%
KENYA   7 1 8 -85.7%
KOREA, NORTH   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
KOREA, SOUTH   9566 12508 22074 30.8%
KUWAIT   15 14 29 -6.7%
LATVIA   5 4 9 -20.0%
LEBANON   6 5 11 -16.7%
LIECHTENSTEIN   22 17 39 -22.7%
LITHUANIA   3 8 11 166.7%
LUXEMBOURG   56 44 100 -21.4%
MALAYSIA   181 224 405 23.8%
MALTA   6 3 9 -50.0%
MEXICO   80 115 195 43.8%
MONACO   7 9 16 28.6%
MOROCCO   3 1 4 -66.7%
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
NETHERLANDS   1558 1919 3477 23.2%
NEW ZEALAND   198 232 430 17.2%
NORWAY   292 448 740 53.4%
OMAN   1 2 3 100.0%
PAKISTAN   3 2 5 -33.3%
PANAMA   2 3 5 50.0%
PARAGUAY   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
PERU   3 2 5 -33.3%
PHILIPPINES   25 40 65 60.0%
POLAND   43 56 99 30.2%
PORTUGAL   19 34 53 78.9%
QATAR   2 0 2 -100.0%
ROMANIA   8 16 24 100.0%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION   204 287 491 40.7%
SAMOA   0 2 2 No 2009 Patents
SAUDI ARABIA   23 58 81 152.2%
SENEGAL   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
SERBIA   2 4 6 100.0%
SINGAPORE   493 633 1126 28.4%
SLOVAKIA   16 19 35 18.8%
SLOVENIA   27 26 53 -3.7%
SOUTH AFRICA   139 142 281 2.2%
SPAIN   403 492 895 22.1%
SRI LANKA   6 5 11 -16.7%
SWEDEN   1231 1594 2825 29.5%
SWITZERLAND   1454 1889 3343 29.9%
TAIWAN   7781 9635 17416 23.8%
THAILAND   39 60 99 53.8%
THE BAHAMAS   6 9 15 50.0%
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO   2 5 7 150.0%
TUNISIA   0 2 2 No 2009 Patents
TURKEY   36 45 81 25.0%
UKRAINE   16 14 30 -12.5%
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   9 9 18 0.0%
UNITED KINGDOM   4009 5038 9047 25.7%
URUGUAY   5 6 11 20.0%
VANUATU   0 1 1 No 2009 Patents
VENEZUELA   11 18 29 63.6%
VIET NAM   2 2 4 0.0%
ZIMBABWE   4 0 4 -100.0%

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