Skip to Navigation
share:
Home › Innovation › Human Capital ›

Patents Granted

Description: 

Inventive activity is a proxy for the quality of the innovation environment. Innovation requires both ability and creativity. Thus, the number of patents granted is one measure of a region’s ability to innovate. Regions where companies, universities, and individuals are engaged in innovation should have more patents granted.

The number of patents granted per 1 million residents is presented on Arizona Indicators. Only “utility” patents, also known as “patents for inventions,” are included.

Data Source: 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_utl.pdf. The annual data are updated in April.

Population estimates as of July 1 are released by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, each December: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/states.html.

Data Quality Comments: 

Many patent applications list more than one inventor. The geographic allocation of a patent granted is determined by the residence of the first-named inventor at the time of the grant. The geographic distribution of patents could be different if the residence of all inventors was considered. A simple count of number of patents granted does not distinguish between patents with considerable near-term commercialization potential and those with more nebulous marketability.

iconNumber of Patents Granted Per 1 Million Residents

Loading Data...

Visualization Notes:

The number of patents granted relative to the size of the population was approximately equal to the national average in Arizona from 1980 through 2008, but the Arizona figure was lower than the national average by 9 percent in 2009 and 11 percent in 2010.  Following several years of declines in the per capita number of patents, both nationally and in Arizona, the figure jumped in 2010, setting a record nationally.

Data Source

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_utl.pdf. The annual data are updated in April.

Population estimates as of July 1 are released by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, each December: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/states.html.