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By Richard Gearhart
Founding Partner


Which state had the most patents granted in 2014?  Who came in second? Which foreign country had the most US patents granted in 2014?  The answers may surprise you, or not! The USPTO keeps tracks of these stats and lists them here.
In brief, the 5 states with the highest numbers were:
California – 40,661
Texas – 10,022
New York – 8904
Massachusetts – 6,725
Washington – 6,448

New Jersey wasn’t too far behind with 5,036.

Apple, Microsoft and IBM, to name a few, had a lot to do with those numbers. But a host of innovation comes from small enterprises, people like you, smart inventors with great ideas who don’t have the backing of a giant corporation.

Which foreign country was the highest? I was a little surprised to see that Japan led the pack with 53,849 US patents granted in 2014.

The top 5 were:
Japan – 53,849
Germany – 16,550
South Korea – 16,469
Taiwan – 11,332
China – 7236

Total US patents granted in 2014, both for US and foreign applications? 300,678.

For 2014 there were 144,621 US patents granted to US inventors, and 156,057 US patents granted to inventors from foreign countries.

Ten years before in 2004 it was just 164,290, about half. The breakdown between US and foreign inventors tracked about the same.

What does this mean for you? If you’ve got an idea, you’re in good company! Do you absolutely need to get a patent? No, but it’s a good idea.  There are different types of patents that cost varying amounts and offer differing levels of protection, and there are also trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights, all of which fall under the Intellectual Property umbrella.  If you’re serious about taking your idea to the next level, talk to an Intellectual Property professional to see what strategy is best for you.

Happy inventing!

About the Author
Richard Gearhart, Esq. is the founder of Gearhart Law and the host of a weekly radio show for entrepreneurs called “Passage to Profit”. He has built a firm with an international presence that helps entrepreneurs from around the world with their patent, trademark and copyright needs. Richard commands a breadth of experience that comes from nearly 30 years of practice in the writing and prosecution of hundreds of patents, and in all aspects of Intellectual Property law. In 2022, Richard was recognized by ROI New Jersey as a 2022 ROI Influencer in the Law List category for being one of the best of the best in New Jersey for intellectual property law. Gearhart Law emerged from Richard’s passion for entrepreneurship and startups and his belief that entrepreneurship grows the economy and creates jobs. When we started Gearhart Law, our goal was to help and support the new business ventures of 500 entrepreneurs and inventors. After 12 years, the firm has far surpassed this goal; today, we look forward to helping even more inventors and entrepreneurs get off to a great start and reach their own goals.