Utility Patent Trends Gleaned from the IPO’s 2014 IP Record

The Intellectual Property Owners’ Association (IPO) recently released its 2014 IP Record, an annual report detailing intellectual property trends in the United States and the top five patent offices from around the world. The report, now in its seventh year, draws on sources including the USPTO Performance and Accountability Report FY 2013, U.S. District Courts Annual Report 2013, WIPO 2013 World Intellectual Property Indicators, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and international patent offices. Using these sources, the report provides a broad overview of the global patent landscape and makes it possible to understand and analyze trends in patent prosecution and litigation.

In this article, Mark W. Rygiel explains a number of trends observed in the recent report. Download the attached PDF to read the article.