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28 October 2020PatentsRory O'Neill

USPTO records 100% surge in AI patents since 2002

The number of artificial intelligence (AI) patents filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has doubled since 2002, a new report reveals.

The USPTO received 60,000 AI-related patent applications in 2018, compared to 30,000 in 2002, the report found.

During this period, the overall share of patent applications containing AI also grew from 9% to nearly 16%.

“AI is becoming ingrained in the daily life of Americans, facilitated by its rapid integration into products such as voice recognition systems in mobile phones, robotic appliances, satellites, search engines, and so much more,” said Andrei Iancu, director of the USPTO.

The report looked at the diffusion of AI across different sectors of the economy, finding that its usage is becoming commonplace in different technologies.

Patents containing AI appeared in 10% of technologies in 1976, rising to 42% by 2018, the report said.

“Unlocking the potential of AI will provide the basis for future US economic growth and prosperity, and is something that the USPTO will continue to facilitate with our corps of patent examiners and other professionals who specialise in the nuances of this broad-based and far-reaching technology,” Iancu said.

IBM leads the way in AI patents, registering 46,572 in the 1972-2018 period. The multinational tech company is followed by Microsoft (22,067), with Google, Hewlett-Packard and Intel rounding out the top five.

The report also examined the geographical spread of AI inventor-patentees, finding that they “tend to be concentrated in larger cities and established technology hubs, such as Silicon Valley, California”.

But the trend points towards a wider geographical spread of AI inventor-patentees in future, the report found: “For instance, Maine and South Carolina are active in digital data processing and data processing adapted for business. Inventor-patentees in Oregon are using AI in fitness training and equipment. In Montana, AI is incorporated into inventions for analysing the chemical and physical properties of materials.”

“It is imperative that we train the next generation of Americans in the STEM subjects and innovation skills that will enable them to be part of this revolution,” Iancu said.

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