The USPTO issued 276,820 patents and published 331,583 applications in calendar year 2012, 7 percent more than in 2011 and an all-time high of 608,403 patent documents.Table 1 shows the number of documents by type.
No milestones were reached in 2012, but in 2013 it’s virtually guaranteed that the USPTO will issue patent no. 8,500,000. And design patents are rapidly approaching the 700,000 mark.
Table 1. US Patents by Type Issued in 2012*
| Type | Total |
|---|---|
| Utility patents | 253,178 |
| Reissue patents | 822 |
| Design patents | 21,952 |
| Plant patents | 860 |
| SIRs | 8 |
| Applications | 331,583 |
*Based on preliminary data from the USPTO website. Totals may change after the fact due to withdrawn patents and published applications.
Table 2. US Patent Number Ranges, Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2012
| Type | First Number | Last Number |
|---|---|---|
| Utility patent | 8,087,094 | 8,341,760 |
| Reissue patent | RE43,053 | RE43,883 |
| Design patent | D651,376 | D673,345 |
| Plant patent | PP22,428 | PP23,287 |
| SIR | H2,266 | H2,273 |
| Utility application | 2012/0000001 | 2012/321207 |
| Plant application | 2012/0005794 | 2012/331605 |
Patent Librarian's Notebook 