Patent Law Practice Center

Women Entrepreneurs Awarded More Patents in Recent Years

The number of women being awarded U.S. patents has increased sharply in recent years, according to a private study commissioned by the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC)  to determine the rates of women who have applied for and received patents from 1975 through 2010.  According to the NWBC’s announcement of their preliminary findings, 22,984 patents were awarded to women in 2010, up by an impressive 35% from 2009. This acceleration in the rate of patents being granted to women is impressive because in 2009, women received 17,061 patents, which was just a 4.5 percent increase over the 16,321 issued in 2008. (more…)