The U.S. patent system is more than two hundred years old. Since 1790, when the first U.S. patent was granted, more than nine million patents have been registered. It took approximately 121 years for the U.S. to reach the one million mark. The intervals between patent milestones have steadily decreased during the past one hundred years. In the early 20th century, it took 24 years for the USPTO to reach the two million mark. The interval between patent no. 8,000,000, issued in August 2011, and patent no. 9,000,000, issued in April 2015, is less than 4 years.
Table 1. Utility Patent Milestones
| Utility Patent | Year | Interval (years) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1836 | |
| 500,000 | 1893 | 57 |
| 1,000,000 | 1911 | 18 |
| 1,500,000 | 1924 | 13 |
| 2,000,000 | 1935 | 11 |
| 2,500,000 | 1950 | 15 |
| 3,000,000 | 1961 | 11 |
| 3,500,000 | 1970 | 9 |
| 4,000,000 | 1976 | 6 |
| 4,500,000 | 1985 | 9 |
| 5,000,000 | 1991 | 6 |
| 5,500,000 | 1996 | 5 |
| 6,000,000 | 1999 | 3 |
| 6,500,000 | 2002 | 3 |
| 7,000,000 | 2006 | 4 |
| 7,500,000 | 2009 | 3 |
| 8,000,000 | 2011 | 2 |
| 8,500,000 | 2013 | 2 |
| 9,000,000 | 2015 | 2 |
| 9,500,000 | 2016 | 1 |
Table 2. Design Patent Milestones
| Design Patent | Year | Interval (years) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1842 | |
| 100,000 | 1936 | 94 |
| 200,000 | 1965 | 29 |
| 300,000 | 1986 | 21 |
| 400,000 | 1998 | 12 |
| 500,000 | 2004 | 6 |
| 600,000 | 2009 | 5 |
| 700,000 | 2014 | 5 |
Patent Librarian's Notebook 