Patents pending: a recovering economy could spur changes.

• Author: Haraldsen, Tom
• Position: Special Report

It should come as no surprise that Utah is a national leader in submitting applications for a United States patent, at least on a per capita basis. But the state's entrepreneurial spirit and tradition of individual business ownership has increased the trend over the past five years.

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So, will the nation's sagging economy and subsequent tightening of business equity and venture capital affect that trend in Utah and nationwide? The answer to that question, like with patent applications, is still pending.

A first glance, the numbers recorded by local intellectual property law firms and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could be a bit misleading. In Alexandria, Virginia, the USPTO reported that 2,507 patent applications were filed by Utahns in 2008. That's up markedly from the 1,995 filed in 2004. Subsequent years showed 1,987 filings in 2005, 2,304 in 2006 and 2,391 in 2007. The USPTO also issued 713 patents to Utah applicants last year.

STILL GOING STRONG

Ruth Ann Nybold, public affairs officer with USPTO, says those types of increases have been seen across the country the past few years. She says there has been a slight decrease this year, "but nothing significant."

That could change, particularly since most of the patents under review now were filed before the economic meltdown really began a year ago. In fact, with a normal lag time of 18 to 24 months between application and "publishing" of a patent (the first step toward its issuance), the real numbers from the economic downturn may not be in for another year or two.

"It has affected Utah to a small degree," says Kory Christensen, a partner in the technology and IP group with the Salt Lake City law firm of Stoel Rives. "Conversely, a lot of new start-up companies are filing for patents. I think that given the current environment, many entrepreneurs are realizing the importance of their intellectual property and filing to protect their ideas. We've seen an increase in the numbers of small businesses seeking patents."

Christensen is a board member of the Utah Technology Council, which has its fingers on the pulse of technological developments in the state. UTC President and CEO Richard Nelson says, "Utah remains the No. 1 technology state in the country, per capita. We always have one of the highest rates in the nation for patents, and it's a natural assumption that we'll continue to be highly-ranked in the number of patents issued by the USPTO."

Thus far, 2009...