Patent Application Filings: Fluctuations and Innovation

Patent Application Filings: Fluctuations and Innovation

The current decline in patent filings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (”USPTO”) has been well documented on many prominent intellectual property blog sites. In fact, according to a recent Patently-O blog entry, “new patent filings are down 16% so far in 2009.” This post examines the variability in the number of application filings in the United States (”US”) and abroad, and discusses the relationship between the number of filings and innovation.