Utility and Design Patent Issuances Up in 2017

Nearly every year for the past decade, the Patent Offices have issued more utility and design patents.  2017 was no exception.  While former Director Kappo’s guiding hand has often been praised for increasing patent quality, the patent numbers during his oversight improved as well.  The Office was without an official director during most of Trump’s first year and is now headed by acting Director Joseph Matal.  Despite the uncertainty, in 2017, there were approximately 5% more issued utility patents and roughly 10% more issued design patents than in 2016.  Charts from Patently-O can be seen here.