US Patent Statistics for 2012

The USPTO issued 276,820 patents and published 331,583 applications in calendar year 2012, 7 percent more than in 2011 and an all-time high of 608,403 patent documents.Table 1 shows the number of documents by type.

No milestones were reached in 2012, but in 2013 it's virtually guaranteed that the USPTO will issue patent no. 8,500,000. And design patents are rapidly approaching the 700,000 mark.

Table 1. US Patents by Type Issued in 2012*

Type	Total
Utility patents	253,178
Reissue patents	822
Design patents	21,952
Plant patents	860
SIRs	8
Applications	331,583

*Based on preliminary data from the USPTO website. Totals may change after the fact due to withdrawn patents and published applications.

Table 2. US Patent Number Ranges, Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2012

Type	First Number	Last Number
Utility patent	8,087,094	8,341,760
Reissue patent	RE43,053	RE43,883
Design patent	D651,376	D673,345
Plant patent	PP22,428	PP23,287
SIR	H2,266	H2,273
Utility application	2012/0000001	2012/321207
Plant application	2012/0005794	2012/331605

Jury Awards Carnegie Mellon University $1.16 Billion in Patent Lawsuit

A jury has awarded Carnegie Mellon University more than $1.16 billion in a patent infringement lawsuit against a tech firm based in Santa Clara, California. An appeal is expected, but if the verdict stands this could be the largest patent infringement award in U.S. history.

China Leads US in Patent Applications

In 2011 China surpassed the US in patent application filings, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization and reported in the Economist. The State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) received 526,412 applications in 2011, compared to slightly more than 500,000 at the USPTO and approximately 340,000 at the Japan Patent Office. In related news, the European Patent Office and SIPO recently announced that Chinese to English machine translation is now available in its Patent Translate service, which is integrated with Espacenet. An additional four million Chinese patent documents are now available in Espacenet.

Pfizer`s Viagra Patent Invalidated Due to Failure to Disclose

The Supreme Court of Canada has invalidate Pfizer's Canadian patent on Viagra, citing the drug-maker's failure to disclose essential information about the main ingredient, sildenafil citrate, in the original application, which was filed in 1994 and granted in 1998. (CA 2163446) The appellant in the case was generic drug maker Teva Canada Ltd.

 

Pfizer holds several other patents related to Viagra, all of which are listed in the Canadian Drug Patent Register.

Here are a couple of stories from the Globe and Mail:

Editorial

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/the-supreme-court-viagra-and-innovation/article5172101/ 

Supreme Court backs Canadian firm’s bid to make generic Viagra

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/supreme-court-backs-canadian-firms-bid-to-make-generic-viagra/article5086216/

Swiss Patent Office Adopts CPC

As of Jan. 1, 2013, the Swiss Patent Office will classify patents using the CPC. This might be the first office (except for the EPO and USPTO) to officially adopt the CPC as its national classification.

Cooperative Patent Classification Available

The USPTO and EPO have released the new Cooperative Patent Classification system ahead of the January 1, 2013 implementation date. Details are available at the CPC website. Documentation includes the entire CPC scheme, an initial set of definitions and CPC concordances.

New: FreePatentsOnline Adds DE Patent Data, Other Resources

FreePatentsOnline has updated its interface and added some new resources. One of the most interesting developments is the addition of German patent data. Other new features include blogs, a version of the MPEP and a case law database containing Federal appellate cases referenced in the MPEP.