United States May Be Losing Dominance In Patents

摘要

On January 14, 2009, IFI Patent Intelligence, a WoltersKluwer Health business, released an annual compilation of the world's top-ranked US patent companies, which suggests America's longstanding dominance of new US patents may be slipping. The economic downturn that epitomized 2008 did not slow the overall flow of US patent activity, however, at least not yet. According to IFI's analysis, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a total of 157, 774 utility patents in calendar year 2008, up slightly over 2007's total of 157,284.