4th Quarter 2011 Patent Issuances Down in Syracuse, but New Applications on the Rise

SYRACUSE, NY (01/26/2012)(readMedia)-- Hoffman Warnick LLC (HW), an intellectual property law firm headquartered in Albany, NY, with offices in Rochester, NY and Boston, MA, presents the Syracuse Patent Index. The Syracuse Patent Index tracks the number of patents issued and new applications published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to inventors residing in the greater Syracuse area (Onondaga County) each quarter. Hoffman Warnick similarly tracks patent activity in the Albany/Tech Valley region, greater Rochester area, and the Boston area. See http://tinyurl.com/HWPatentIndex. The Syracuse Patent Index is intended to provide a quarterly indicator of the technological trends of the Syracuse region.

As can be seen in the accompanying graph, the number of Q4 patents issued in the Syracuse area dipped significantly from Q3. "Such a dip could be concerning for the region should it continue," stated Michael Hoffman, partner at Hoffman Warnick, "but is likely just an anomaly for the fourth quarter that could be attributable to any number of factors. For instance, it is not unusual for corporations to push off patent issuances to the following calendar year for budgetary or timing reasons." Hoffman further added, "A more relevant indicator of the region's health may be the number of newly published applications, which continues to grow." Patent applications are published by the USPTO 18 months after their filing date, whereas it often takes three of more years for a patent to issue after it is filed.

Hoffman also noted that we may be at the tail end of a recent push that accelerated the issuance of patents thanks to the appointment of the US Patent Office's new Director, David Kappos, a former IBM Chief IP Counsel. "The USPTO may simply have worked through much of the backlog of older pending patents, resulting in fewer issuances. More importantly, the number of new applications in the pipeline does not seem to be slowing down, which reflects a growing investment in R&D."

To obtain a pdf of this quarter's Patent Index, please e-mail hwemail@hoffmanwarnick.com or visit www.hoffmanwarnick.com.

About Hoffman Warnick LLC: Hoffman Warnick LLC is an intellectual property law firm focusing on biotechnology, nanotechnology, computers and software, electrical, mechanical, chemical, and materials engineering. Hoffman Warnick is committed to providing the highest quality services including: domestic and international property rights procurement, dispute resolution, and licensing.