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


PATENTING TRENDS
CALENDAR YEAR 2012

(document dated 31-JAN-2012)

In calendar year 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted 253,155 utility, 21,951 design, 860 plant, and 822 reissue patents, and 8 statutory invention registrations for a total of 276,796 patent documents for the year. Annual grants of all patent documents increased by 11.7 percent when compared to the total for calendar year 2011 (247,728 grants in 2011). Calendar year 2012 grants of utility patents ('patents for inventions') numbered 253,155, a 12.8 percent increase above the total for 2011 (224,505).

In 2012, the share of all patents that were issued to U.S.-resident inventors was 48.5 percent, a decrease from the U.S. share for 2011 (48.9%). California-resident inventors claimed a 25.8 percent share (34,660 patents) of these U.S.-resident inventor patents, followed by resident inventors from Texas (6.7 percent, 8,930 patents), New York (6.4 percent, 8,557 patents), Massachusetts (4.6 percent, 6,119 patents), Washington (4.5 percent, 5,985 patents), Illinois (3.8 percent, 5,078 patents), Michigan (3.7 percent, 4,997 patents), New Jersey (3.5 percent, 4,656 patents), and Florida (3.3 percent, 4,453 patents). U.S.-resident inventors of the following areas had the largest percentage increases in patent receipts from 2011 to 2012: Wyoming, District of Columbia, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Kansas, and Nebraska.

There were 16,115 patents granted to U.S. independent inventors in 2012, up from the 2011 count of U.S. independent inventor patents (14,869). The independent inventor share of all patents issued to U.S.-resident inventors dropped to 12.0 percent in 2012 from a 12.3 percent share in 2011.

Foreign-resident inventors claimed a 51.5 percent share of all U.S. patents issued in 2012. The share of all U.S. patents that were issued to Japan-resident inventors in calendar year 2012 was 19.1 percent, down from 19.5 in 2011. The 2012 share of U.S. patents that were issued to Germany-resident inventors was 5.4 percent, up from 5.2 percent in 2011. For South Korean-resident inventors, the 2012 share was 5.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent in 2011 and the share for Taiwan-resident inventors was 4.2 percent for 2012, up from 4.0 in 2011. Countries with notable increases in patent receipts for 2012 include Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Greece, People's Republic of China, India, Czech Republic, Portugal, and Slovenia.

The foreign countries whose residents received the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2012 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 2011 to 2012.

 

This table displays the fourteen foreign countries of origin receiving the most U.S. patents during calendar year 2012. 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 2012
Number
of Patents
in 2012
Share of
All Patents
in 2012
Country (Rank
in 2011)
(Number
of patents
in 2011)
(2011 to 2012)
(Change in Number
of patents)
1 52773 19.1% Japan (1) (48256) (9.4%)
2 15041 5.4% Germany (3) (12967) (16.0%)
3 14168 5.1% South Korea (2) (13239) (7.0%)
4 11624 4.2% Taiwan (4) (9907) (17.3%)
5 6459 2.3% Canada (5) (5756) (12.2%)
6 5876 2.1% United Kingdom (7) (4910) (19.7%)
7 5857 2.1% France (6) (5023) (16.6%)
8 5341 1.9% China, People's Rep. (8) (3786) (41.1%)
9 2598 0.9% Israel (11) (2108) (23.2%)
10 2546 0.9% Italy (9) (2333) (9.1%)
11 2264 0.8% Sweden (14) (1863) (21.5%)
12 2193 0.8% Netherlands (12) (2048) (7.1%)
13 2039 0.7% Switzerland (13) (1865) (9.3%)
14 1786 0.6% Australia (10) (2215) (-19.4%)
             
  134194 48.5% United States   (121,257) (10.7%)
  142602 51.5% All Foreign   (126,471) (12.8%)
  276796 100.0% All Countries   (247,728) (11.7%)

Annual Percentage Change in Patent Counts
By U.S. State and Country of Origin
Calendar Year 2011 to 2012

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 2011 to 2012. 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 2011
Number
of Patents
in 2012
Number
of Patents
in 2011-2012
Annual Percent
Increase
Total, U.S. And Foreign Origin   247728 276796 524524 11.7%
-- Subtotal -- U.S. Origin   121257 134194 255451 10.7%
-- Subtotal -- Foreign Origin   126471 142602 269073 12.8%
           
ALABAMA   416 478 894 14.9%
ALASKA   32 46 78 43.8%
ARIZONA   2248 2370 4618 5.4%
ARKANSAS   188 238 426 26.6%
CALIFORNIA   30750 34660 65410 12.7%
COLORADO   2397 2745 5142 14.5%
CONNECTICUT   2121 2297 4418 8.3%
DELAWARE   457 485 942 6.1%
FLORIDA   3841 4453 8294 15.9%
GEORGIA   2206 2501 4707 13.4%
HAWAII   128 131 259 2.3%
IDAHO   1089 979 2068 -10.1%
ILLINOIS   4594 5078 9672 10.5%
INDIANA   1633 1963 3596 20.2%
IOWA   856 914 1770 6.8%
KANSAS   805 1100 1905 36.6%
KENTUCKY   551 620 1171 12.5%
LOUISIANA   368 445 813 20.9%
MAINE   202 222 424 9.9%
MARYLAND   1641 1715 3356 4.5%
MASSACHUSETTS   5526 6119 11645 10.7%
MICHIGAN   4397 4997 9394 13.6%
MINNESOTA   4227 4278 8505 1.2%
MISSISSIPPI   172 161 333 -6.4%
MISSOURI   1004 1165 2169 16.0%
MONTANA   114 133 247 16.7%
NEBRASKA   247 336 583 36.0%
NEVADA   673 882 1555 31.1%
NEW HAMPSHIRE   806 791 1597 -1.9%
NEW JERSEY   4276 4656 8932 8.9%
NEW MEXICO   412 444 856 7.8%
NEW YORK   7842 8557 16399 9.1%
NORTH CAROLINA   2884 3252 6136 12.8%
NORTH DAKOTA   95 98 193 3.2%
OHIO   3903 4110 8013 5.3%
OKLAHOMA   529 521 1050 -1.5%
OREGON   2372 2462 4834 3.8%
PENNSYLVANIA   3652 3894 7546 6.6%
RHODE ISLAND   351 415 766 18.2%
SOUTH CAROLINA   793 978 1771 23.3%
SOUTH DAKOTA   106 129 235 21.7%
TENNESSEE   1080 1065 2145 -1.4%
TEXAS   8044 8930 16974 11.0%
UTAH   1214 1327 2541 9.3%
VERMONT   536 506 1042 -5.6%
VIRGINIA   1744 1817 3561 4.2%
WASHINGTON   5264 5985 11249 13.7%
WEST VIRGINIA   109 142 251 30.3%
WISCONSIN   2154 2289 4443 6.3%
WYOMING   74 125 199 68.9%
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA   102 148 250 45.1%
PUERTO RICO   28 39 67 39.3%
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   3 3 6 0.0%
U.S. UNSPECIFIED REGION   1 0 1 -100.0%
U.S. TOTALS   121257 134194 255451 10.7%
           
AFGHANISTAN   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
ALBANIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
ANDORRA   2 3 5 50.0%
ANGOLA   0 2 2 No 2011 Patents
ANGUILLA   1 1 2 0.0%
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA   1 5 6 400.0%
ARGENTINA   51 67 118 31.4%
ARMENIA   7 2 9 -71.4%
AUSTRALIA   2215 1786 4001 -19.4%
AUSTRIA   927 987 1914 6.5%
AZERBAIJAN   2 1 3 -50.0%
THE BAHAMAS   10 9 19 -10.0%
BAHRAIN   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
BANGLADESH   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
BELARUS   3 7 10 133.3%
BELGIUM   958 1004 1962 4.8%
BERMUDA   6 3 9 -50.0%
BOLIVIA   1 0 1 -100.0%
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA   0 3 3 No 2011 Patents
BRAZIL   254 256 510 0.8%
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS   1 0 1 -100.0%
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM   1 0 1 -100.0%
BULGARIA   43 25 68 -41.9%
CAMEROON   0 3 3 No 2011 Patents
CANADA   5756 6459 12215 12.2%
CAYMAN ISLANDS   3 9 12 200.0%
CHILE   35 38 73 8.6%
CHINA, HONG KONG   658 739 1397 12.3%
CHINA, MACAU   6 3 9 -50.0%
CHINA, PEOPLE'S REP.   3786 5341 9127 41.1%
COLOMBIA   21 16 37 -23.8%
COSTA RICA   16 10 26 -37.5%
CROATIA   18 23 41 27.8%
CUBA   6 5 11 -16.7%
CYPRUS   2 5 7 150.0%
CZECH REPUBLIC   97 133 230 37.1%
DENMARK   840 978 1818 16.4%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   2 2 4 0.0%
ECUADOR   3 4 7 33.3%
EGYPT   21 28 49 33.3%
ESTONIA   13 41 54 215.4%
FAROE ISLANDS   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
FINLAND   1023 1138 2161 11.2%
FRANCE   5023 5857 10880 16.6%
GEORGIA (REPUBLIC OF)   3 2 5 -33.3%
GERMANY   12967 15041 28008 16.0%
GHANA   1 3 4 200.0%
GIBRALTAR   4 6 10 50.0%
GREECE   62 93 155 50.0%
GUATEMALA   0 2 2 No 2011 Patents
GUERNSEY   4 3 7 -25.0%
HAITI   1 0 1 -100.0%
HONDURAS   1 0 1 -100.0%
HUNGARY   111 113 224 1.8%
ICELAND   24 22 46 -8.3%
INDIA   1259 1734 2993 37.7%
INDONESIA   11 12 23 9.1%
IRAN   17 28 45 64.7%
IRELAND   319 358 677 12.2%
ISLE OF MAN   11 18 29 63.6%
ISRAEL   2108 2598 4706 23.2%
ITALY   2333 2546 4879 9.1%
JAMAICA   1 2 3 100.0%
JAPAN   48256 52773 101029 9.4%
JERSEY   3 6 9 100.0%
JORDAN   5 3 8 -40.0%
KAZAKHSTAN   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
KENYA   3 0 3 -100.0%
KOREA, NORTH   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
KOREA, SOUTH   13239 14168 27407 7.0%
KUWAIT   24 33 57 37.5%
LATVIA   3 5 8 66.7%
LEBANON   21 8 29 -61.9%
LIECHTENSTEIN   15 16 31 6.7%
LITHUANIA   9 5 14 -44.4%
LUXEMBOURG   47 49 96 4.3%
MACEDONIA   2 0 2 -100.0%
MALAYSIA   181 219 400 21.0%
MALTA   4 3 7 -25.0%
MEXICO   117 153 270 30.8%
MONACO   8 12 20 50.0%
MOROCCO   4 2 6 -50.0%
NETHERLANDS   2048 2193 4241 7.1%
NEW ZEALAND   255 293 548 14.9%
NIGERIA   1 3 4 200.0%
NORWAY   412 474 886 15.0%
OMAN   3 3 6 0.0%
PAKISTAN   4 13 17 225.0%
PANAMA   1 5 6 400.0%
PARAGUAY   0 2 2 No 2011 Patents
PERU   5 3 8 -40.0%
PHILIPPINES   30 46 76 53.3%
POLAND   81 96 177 18.5%
PORTUGAL   35 47 82 34.3%
QATAR   1 4 5 300.0%
ROMANIA   34 44 78 29.4%
RUSSIAN FEDERATION   307 339 646 10.4%
SAUDI ARABIA   61 173 234 183.6%
SERBIA   8 12 20 50.0%
SEYCHELLES   1 0 1 -100.0%
SINGAPORE   696 841 1537 20.8%
SLOVAKIA   19 19 38 0.0%
SLOVENIA   35 47 82 34.3%
SOUTH AFRICA   144 158 302 9.7%
SPAIN   565 728 1293 28.8%
SRI LANKA   7 4 11 -42.9%
SWEDEN   1863 2264 4127 21.5%
SWITZERLAND   1865 2039 3904 9.3%
SYRIA   1 1 2 0.0%
TAIWAN   9907 11624 21531 17.3%
THAILAND   73 46 119 -37.0%
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO   2 4 6 100.0%
TUNISIA   3 5 8 66.7%
TURKEY   52 55 107 5.8%
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
UKRAINE   18 42 60 133.3%
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   13 21 34 61.5%
UNITED KINGDOM   4910 5876 10786 19.7%
URUGUAY   2 9 11 350.0%
UZBEKISTAN   0 1 1 No 2011 Patents
VENEZUELA   18 26 44 44.4%
VIET NAM   0 4 4 No 2011 Patents
ZIMBABWE   0 2 2 No 2011 Patents
TOTAL   247728 276796 524524 11.7%

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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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