There was a huge jump in the number of issued U.S. patents in Q2. The USPTO issued 64,037 patents from April through June, 15.4 percent more than in Q1 and 31.7 percent more than the same period in 2009. The number of published applications also increased 9.5 percent, reversing a downward trend first noted in Q4 2009. If this output continues through the rest of the year the USPTO will publish a record-breaking 550,000 documents.

Table 1. Quarterly Patent Counts*

2010 ….. Patents (B) …..PGPubs (A)….. Total (A + B)
Q1 ….. 55,488 ….. 77,520 ….. 133,008
Q2 ….. 64,037 ….. 84,919 ….. 143,069

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 Totals may change after the fact due to withdrawn patents and published applications.

Table 2. Number Ranges for 2010, Jan. 1 – June 30

Utility patents ….. 7,640,598 – 7,748,052
Reissues ….. RE41,067 – RE41,411
PGPubs ….. 2010/0000001 – 2010/0162457
Designs ….. D607,176 – D618,875
Plants …… PP20,622 – PP21,134
SIRs ….. H2,234 – H2,242