In the U.S., those who can dream up the next best tool to improve the lives of others often can cement their names in the bedrock of history.
And that process begins with applying for a patent. A patent gives an individual or company exclusive rights to sell or profit from an invention. It also gives them grounds to sue another person or company if they believe the other party is wrongfully profiting from an idea they patented.
More than 200,000 patent applications were filed across the 50 states and Washington D.C., in the fiscal year 2022. Some analysts have said global patent activity fell in the second half of 2022, primarily due to the slowdown in the global economy and disruptions from COVID-19.
Using data from the Patent and Trademark Office and Census Bureau population estimates, ClickUp ranked the top 15 states by the number of new patents filed per capita in fiscal year 2022, which ran through the end of September.
Many states leading the race to patent inventions are also technology hubs. California, home to Silicon Valley and the heart of the tech industry, is the No. 1 state for patents filed in 2022.Â
It’s the home base for massive companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook, where multibillion-dollar research budgets buoy innovation. The state filed six times the number of patents as the next top state for overall patent applications last year.
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Summarize this article for me please15. North Carolina
- New patent applications, FY2022: 6.01 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 6,433
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 1,878
In the past decade, North Carolina, a major base of operations for the U.S. banking industry, is a hotspot for computer hardware and software patents and other communications-related inventions. Honeywell, Bank of America, Duke University, and North Carolina State University are some of the state’s largest owners of patents.
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Summarize this article for me please14. Utah
- New patent applications, FY2022: 6.25 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 2,114
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 669
The Mountain West regions are not known for their patent activity save for the Denver area, according to USPTO filings from the last 10 years. In Utah, though, the most popular inventions getting patented are those in the medical, surgical, and pharmaceutical drug space.
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Summarize this article for me please13. Michigan
- New patent applications, FY2022: 6.66 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 6,680
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 1,310
The majority of patent application activity happens in the Ann Arbor region of Michigan, according to USPTO data. Pharmaceutical drug patents, PC hardware and software, and motor vehicle engines are also popular sectors for innovation. Ford, GM, and Chrysler maintain headquarters in Michigan.
Summarize this article for me please12. New Hampshire
- New patent applications, FY2022: 6.79 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 948
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 367
New Hampshire patent applications are led by BAE Systems, a London-based defense contractor and aerospace company with a significant presence in the state. Information storage, software, and communications tech encompass the majority of patents in the state.
Summarize this article for me please11. Connecticut
- New patent applications, FY2022: 7.16 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 2,598
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 947
Connecticut’s largest patent owners are United Technologies Corp., followed by defense contractor Raytheon Technologies and Otis Elevator Company. UTC is no longer, though its patents are still accounted for in the USPTO database. The firm merged with Raytheon in 2020.
Summarize this article for me please10. Colorado
- New patent applications, FY2022: 7.25 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 4,236
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 1,168
The lion’s share of patents filed in Colorado come from the Denver and Boulder metro areas. Berkshire Hathaway-owned building materials manufacturer Johns Manville and the University of Colorado are significant owners of tech patents in the state, including in the communications space.
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Summarize this article for me please9. Washington DC
- New patent applications, FY2022: 7.41 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 498
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 172
The U.S. Navy, Army, and NASA are the three largest owners of patents in the nation’s capital. The most cited patent in the state comes from Nano Resources Limited, which filed a patent to protect its method for electronic retail banking services way back in 1993, according to USPTO data.
Summarize this article for me please8. Delaware
- New patent applications, FY2022: 7.93 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 808
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 231
Top inventors by patents filed in Delaware include the prolific chemical company Du Pont, wireless communication research firm InterDigital Tech Corp. and lab equipment supplier Empire Technology Development.
Summarize this article for me please7. Minnesota
- New patent applications, FY2022: 8.09 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 4,626
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 1,608
Minneapolis-headquartered retailer Target Inc. is one of the largest owners of patents in Minnesota, but the medical space is the most significant area for new, patented technologies.
Summarize this article for me please6. Vermont
- New patent applications, FY2022: 8.18 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 529
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 131
Semiconductor and drug-related patents are most common in this state, where manufacturing is the largest industry.
Summarize this article for me please5. Oregon
- New patent applications, FY2022: 8.19 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 3,471
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 1,042
Intel’s Jack Kavalieros has emerged as the most patented inventor in Portland, Oregon, over the past decade. Portland State University and Lattice Semiconductor Corp. are also top holders of patents in the state.
Summarize this article for me please4. Washington
- New patent applications, FY2022: 10.58 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 8,236
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 3,207
The majority of patents in Washington tend to be filed in the Seattle area, where Amazon is the undisputed champ. The company owns more than 16,000 patents filed in the state over the past 10 years.
Summarize this article for me please3. Idaho
- New patent applications, FY2022: 11.00 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 2,133
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 438
Idaho has seen an uptick in patents filed in Boise since 2017. Semiconductor manufacturer Micron owns more patents than any other company in Boise, with more than 31,000 registered.
Summarize this article for me please2. Massachusetts
- New patent applications, FY2022: 15.51 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 10,830
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 3,855
Massachusetts, home to Cambridge-based MIT and numerous other tech-heavy institutions, is home to some of the largest patent filers in the nation. New drug technologies make up the largest share of patents filed in Boston, and Gillette is a significant patent owner there. Patent activity in the Boston area peaked in 2020 and fell slightly in 2021.
Summarize this article for me please1. California
- New patent applications, FY2022: 16.33 patents filed per 10,000 residents
- Total new patent applications, FY2022: 63,725
- Requests for continued examination of patents, 2022: 20,183
San Jose is the innovation hotspot in the Golden State, where computer software, hardware, communications devices, and semiconductors make up the most significant portion of patents filed. Cisco and Broadcom are major patent owners in San Jose. One of the most prolific and most-cited patents to emerge from Palo Alto, just a stone’s throw from San Jose, is one for multi-finger touch sensing for PC and laptop mousepads owned by Logitech.
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Summarize this article for me pleaseTurn Your Vision Into Reality: Use Tools to Bring Your Ideas to Life
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