Innovation In Maryland Dips In First Half of 2007
The first half of 2007 saw a small decline in the number of patents granted to Maryland inventors. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office statistics show that for the period January through June 2007, the PTO granted 993 patents naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor or joint inventor (based on residence addresses supplied by patent applicants to the PTO). The PTO had issued 1,038 patents to Maryland inventors for the same period in 2006. Patents are issued, on average, about three years after the underlying patent applications are filed, so the number of patents issued in the first half of 2007 reflects patent activity in approximately 2004.
The number of published applications naming at least one Maryland inventor (again based upon residency information) in the first half of 2007 was also slightly down from 2006 numbers. According to the PTO, there were 1,495 patent applications naming at least one Maryland inventor published during the first half of 2007, compared to 1,511 patent applications published during the same period in 2006.
Those figures are consistent with 2004 and 2005 numbers (which are the most recent compiled statistics based on geographic regions available from the PTO). Considering the top 10 Maryland organizations receiving patents in 2004 and 2005, all but one (i.e., Human Genome Sciences) saw the number of patents acquired slip in 2005 compared to 2004. Johns Hopkins University, for example, received 65 patents in 2005, down from 85 in 2004. Black & Decker saw its numbers drop to 43 patents received in 2005, down from 52 in 2004. Individual Maryland inventors did not fare much better, receiving 183 patents in 2005, a nearly 20% drop from the 225 patents received in 2004.
Comments and notes:
- The number of patents issued and patent applications published are only two variables reflecting the level of innovation in Maryland.
