| Table 6-8 |
| USPTO patents granted, by selected technology area: Selected years, 2000–10 |
| |
| Technology area |
2000 |
|
2003 |
|
2005 |
|
2007 |
|
2009 |
|
2010 |
Average annual change: 2000–10 (%) |
| |
| All technologies |
157,489 |
|
169,020 |
|
143,805 |
|
157,282 |
|
167,350 |
|
219,642 |
3.4 |
| Networking |
1,785 |
|
2,626 |
|
3,321 |
|
4,859 |
|
6,921 |
|
9,861 |
18.6 |
| Information processing |
6,539 |
|
7,533 |
|
8,141 |
|
11,672 |
|
15,075 |
|
22,038 |
12.9 |
| Automation and control |
1,591 |
|
1,843 |
|
1,856 |
|
2,773 |
|
3,225 |
|
3,951 |
9.5 |
| Telecommunications |
6,526 |
|
7,385 |
|
7,125 |
|
10,264 |
|
11,138 |
|
14,727 |
8.5 |
| Medical electronics |
2,066 |
|
2,575 |
|
2,026 |
|
2,439 |
|
2,565 |
|
3,489 |
5.4 |
| Semiconductors |
10,856 |
|
13,108 |
|
11,036 |
|
11,440 |
|
11,974 |
|
16,665 |
4.4 |
| Optics |
4,550 |
|
6,417 |
|
6,696 |
|
6,597 |
|
6,683 |
|
6,875 |
4.2 |
| Measurement techniques and instrumentation |
7,391 |
|
9,219 |
|
8,406 |
|
9,478 |
|
9,790 |
|
10,918 |
4.0 |
| Biotechnology |
5,606 |
|
5,379 |
|
4,117 |
|
5,940 |
|
5,826 |
|
8,206 |
3.9 |
| Computer systems |
8,848 |
|
9,789 |
|
9,711 |
|
10,506 |
|
11,680 |
|
12,654 |
3.6 |
| Aerospace and defense |
1,702 |
|
2,110 |
|
1,781 |
|
1,434 |
|
1,679 |
|
2,098 |
2.1 |
| Medical equipment |
6,929 |
|
7,412 |
|
4,913 |
|
4,582 |
|
4,691 |
|
7,424 |
0.7 |
| Pharmaceuticals |
5,388 |
|
5,590 |
|
3,911 |
|
3,835 |
|
4,275 |
|
5,471 |
0.2 |
| Materials |
5,580 |
|
5,793 |
|
4,006 |
|
3,658 |
|
3,582 |
|
5,193 |
–0.7 |
| |
USPTO = U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
NOTE: Technologies classified by The Patent Board™.
SOURCE: The Patent Board™, Proprietary Patent database, special tabulations (2011). See appendix tables 6-48–6-61.
Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 |
|