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Chapter 8
LOST IN IP SPACE
8.1 THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
OF PATENTING
Data from the USPTO on the rate of patent application lings and the issuance of
patents conrms what everyone in the patent business knows: e pace of patent
application ling and patent issuance is on the rise and has been for an extended
time. Figure8.1 plots the number of patent applications led and the number of
patents issued per calendar year with the USPTO since 1940.
Some believe that this increased pace is abnormal. ey cite it as evidence of a
“patent race” or “patent explosion” that reects the sudden realization on the part
of technology businesses that paten