The number of patent applications approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) fell by 3.3% in 2018, a new analysis shows. The analysis, which was carried out by Anaqua, a US intellectual asset management and software provider, concluded that there were 11,483 fewer patents granted in 2018 than in the year before. In 2017, 352,585 applications were approved, while there were 341,102 approvals in 2018. The analysis found that the top 25 patent owners in 2018 received more than 18% of all patents granted by the USPTO. Among the top 25, technology companies continued to dominate the list, but the transportation sector jumped to the second biggest patent class. The analysis said self-driving vehicles were having a big impact on innovations, with Ford entering the top ten list of most patents obtained in 2018. Several patent filings stood out in 2018, according to Anaqua.

Source: WIPR