Innovation
Patents Granted by Organization
Description: Considerably less than half of patent applications result in a patent granted. Patents typically are granted at least two years after the application. The number of patent applications is included as an input to innovation, in the research and development subcategory.
Many patent applications list more than one inventor. The geographic allocation of a patent granted is determined by the residence of the first-named inventor at the time of the grant.
The numbers of patents granted to Arizonans during the most recent five-year period, tallied by company, are presented in a table on the dashboard, ranked from the greatest number of patents over the five-year period to the fewest. Companies with at least five patents granted over the five years are included in the table. Many inventors are not associated with a company; this tally is provided first in the table. The table also can be sorted into alphabetical company order. Only “utility” patents, also known as “patents for inventions,” are included.
Rationale: Inventive activity is a proxy for the quality of the innovation environment. Innovation requires both ability and creativity. Thus, the number of patents granted is one measure of a region’s ability to innovate. Regions where companies, universities, and individuals are engaged in innovation should have more patents granted.
Data Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/asgstc/az_stc.htm.
Comments on the Quality of the Data: The geographic distribution of patents could be different if the residence of all inventors was considered. Since patent policy varies by company, the count by organization is impacted since only the organization listed as the first-named inventor appears in this list. A simple count of number of patents granted does not distinguish between patents with considerable near-term commercialization potential and those with more nebulous marketability.
