FedInvent™ Patents

New Taxpayer Funded Patents for Tuesday, October 25, 2011 

This page was updated on Monday, March 27, 2023 at 02:05 AM GMT

FedInvent analyzed 93 taxpayer-funded patents this week.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted 93 taxpayer-funded patents; including 84 patents containing government interest statements and 22 patents where federal government agencies were an assignee or applicant. Together, 93 patents granted this week are the result of US government-funded research & development.

Learn More About Taxpayer Funded Patents Here

The List of This Week's Patents

Just a list — patent number with a link and the title, for those patentistas who like to browse.

About The Icons On the List Below

  • The icon takes you to the full text version of the patent at USPTO;
  • The icon takes you to the PDF version of the patent at USPTO; and
  • The icon takes you to the details about the patent on the FedInvent Details page.
  • When you use the icon the patent you are interested appears at the top of the list on the details page.
Patent Title
001 08042209
 
Techniques for compensating movement of a treatment target in a patient 
002 08042228
 
Adjustable hinge mounting block 
003 08042255
 
Rapid fabrication techniques for arbitrary shape piezoelectric transducer sensors 
004 08042264
 
Method of fabricating an electroactive polymer transducer 
005 08042305
 
Deployable structural assemblies, systems for deploying such structural assemblies 
006 08042384
 
Fuel composition estimation and control of fuel injection 
007 08042403
 
Apparatus to control a linearly decreasing force 
008 08042449
 
Vehicle protection system 
009 08042483
 
Apparatus for control of stator wakes 
010 08042610
 
Parallel heater system for subsurface formations 
011 08042739
 
Wireless tamper detection sensor and sensing system 
012 08042767
 
Composite fabric with rigid member structure 
013 08043286
 
Method and apparatus for plasma-mediated thermo-electrical ablation 
014 08043412
 
High volume, multiple use, portable precipitator 
015 08043453
 
System and method for reworking composites 
016 08043458
 
Method of forming panels using an in-situ tape placement process and panels formed therefrom 
017 08043464
 
Systems and methods for assembling lightweight RF antenna structures 
018 08043586
 
Methods of using adsorption media for separating or removing constituents 
019 08043622
 
Method of treating inflammatory lung disease with suppressors of CpG oligonucleotides 
020 08043623
 
Immunogenic peptides for the treatment of prostate and breast cancer 
021 08043631
 
Tumor targeting drug-loaded particles 
022 08043658
 
Resistive heater geometry and regeneration method for a diesel particulate filter 
023 08043703
 
Thermally conductive graphite reinforced alloys 
024 08043720
 
Process of producing a ceramic matrix composite article and article formed thereby 
025 08043752
 
Fuel cell generator with fuel electrodes that control on-cell fuel reformation 
026 08043801
 
Method of screening for agents to treat heart failure 
027 08043802
 
Fluorescence based biosensor 
028 08043803
 
Slitrks as markers for stem and progenitor cells and methods of use thereof 
029 08043804
 
DBC1, a novel native inhibitor of anti-aging protein SIRT1 
030 08043809
 
Real-time PCR point mutation assays for detecting HIV-1 resistance to antiviral drugs 
031 08043810
 
Analyte detection using autocatalytic chain reactions 
032 08043820
 
Diagnostic methods for the detection of risk of autistic spectrum disorder 
033 08043830
 
Biotin-ligase system for secretion of biotinylated protein 
034 08043842
 
Bacteria with reduced genome 
035 08043846
 
Device and method for contacting picoliter volumes of fluid 
036 08043853
 
Postnatal gut neural crest stem cells 
037 08043856
 
Adenoviral vectors for influenza virus production 
038 08043861
 
Methods and apparatus for detecting exposure to hazardous substances 
039 08043943
 
Low-temperature formation of polycrystalline semiconductor films via enhanced metal-induced crystallization 
040 08043980
 
Methods for making and using halosilylgermanes 
041 08044018
 
Reagents and methods for smooth muscle therapies 
042 08044025
 
Urocortin proteins and uses thereof 
043 08044026
 
Composition for promoting cartilage formation or repair comprising a NELL gene product and method of treating cartilage-related conditions using such composition 
044 08044057
 
Methods for suppressing an immune response or treating a proliferative disorder 
045 08044089
 
3-3-di-substituted-oxindoles as inhibitors of translation initiation 
046 08044103
 
Cyclic dipeptides and azetidinone compounds and their use in treating CNS injury and neurodegenerative disorders 
047 08044185
 
Conformationally stabilized HIV envelope immunogens and triggering HIV-I envelope to reveal cryptic V3-loop epitopes 
048 08044186
 
Heterologous production of capreomycin and generation of new capreomycin derivatives through metabolic engineering 
049 08044187
 
Human luteinizing hormone superagonists 
050 08044189
 
Bacillus anthracis protective antigen nucleic acid sequences 
051 08044203
 
Chiral indole intermediates and their fluorescent cyanine dyes containing functional groups 
052 08044225
 
Zwitterionic Group VIII transition metal initiators supported by olefin ligands 
053 08044259
 
Determining the capability of a test compound to affect solid tumor stem cells 
054 08044264
 
Polypeptides having cellulolytic enhancing activity and polynucleotides encoding same 
055 08044293
 
High performance thermoelectric nanocomposite device 
056 08044294
 
Thermoelectric materials and devices 
057 08044332
 
Hybrid architecture active wavefront sensing and control system, and method 
058 08044350
 
Miniaturized ultrafine particle sizer and monitor 
059 08044425
 
Ultra-thin ohmic contacts for p-type nitride light emitting devices 
060 08044556
 
Highly efficient, charge depletion-mediated, voltage-tunable actuation efficiency and resonance frequency of piezoelectric semiconductor nanoelectromechanical systems resonators 
061 08044571
 
Electrode stacks for electroactive devices and methods of fabricating the same 
062 08044629
 
Self-tuning vibration absorber 
063 08044637
 
Battery charging method 
064 08044655
 
Pulse measurement apparatus and method 
065 08044672
 
Method for measuring D-Q impedance of polyphase power grid components 
066 08044681
 
Apparatus and method for channel-specific configuration in a readout ASIC 
067 08044839
 
Combined radar and communications link 
068 08044841
 
Geometry and sensitivity weighted dynamic multi-sensor selection system and method 
069 08044846
 
Method for deblurring radar range-doppler images 
070 08044857
 
System and method for correcting global navigation satellite system pseudorange measurements in receivers having controlled reception pattern antennas 
071 08044999
 
Image enhancer for detecting and identifying objects in turbid media 
072 08045152
 
All optical nanoscale sensor 
073 08045161
 
Robust determination of the anisotropic polarizability of nanoparticles using coherent confocal microscopy 
074 08045257
 
Nonlinear harmonic generation and devices in doubly-resonant Kerr cavities 
075 08045263
 
Device and method for wide-field and high resolution imaging of tissue 
076 08045419
 
Method for mitigating spatial aliasing 
077 08045505
 
Mechanism for automatic network formation and medium access coordination 
078 08045752
 
Systems and methods for witness card analysis 
079 08045770
 
System and method for three-dimensional image rendering and analysis 
080 08045859
 
High-speed underwater data transmission system and method 
081 08045972
 
Multimode wireless radio access network with distributed processing 
082 08046163
 
Interactive pedestrian routing method 
083 08046171
 
Methods and apparatus for genetic evaluation 
084 08046174
 
System and method for identifying networks of ternary relationships in complex data systems 
085 08046200
 
Nonlinear function approximation over high-dimensional domains 
086 08046203
 
Method and apparatus for analysis of errors, accuracy, and precision of guns and direct and indirect fire control mechanisms 
087 08046315
 
Relational Bayesian modeling for electronic commerce 
088 08046322
 
Methods and framework for constraint-based activity mining (CMAP) 
089 08046426
 
Random linear coding approach to distributed data storage 
090 08046563
 
Virtual architectures in a parallel processing environment 
091 08046742
 
Self-assembling software generator 
092 08046819
 
Methods and systems for determining security requirements for an information resource 
093 PP22208
 
Peach rootstock named ‘HBOK 50’ 

Up to Start Of Table

Patent Count By Department

This is the count of taxpayer-funded patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) this week. These patents contain a Government Interest Statement in the body of the patent document or are patents where the government is an assignee. Agency numbers are aggregated by the agency named in the Government Interests Statement and the contract number cited in the government interest section of the patent.

Department This Week This Year
Department of Defense (DOD) 36 1735
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 27 1483
Department of Energy (DOE) 13 718
National Science Foundation (NSF) 12 543
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 5 222
Small Business Administration (SBA) 2 92
Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1 110
Department of Commerce (DOC) 1 100
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 1 22
Non-Profit Organization (NPO) 1 7
United States Postal Service (USPS) 1 20
Government Rights Acknowledged 3 80

Patents By Funding Agency

FedInvent Patents are patents funded by US taxpayers. Taxpayer-funded patents have Government Interest Statements in the body of the patent or are patents where an agency of the US federal government has retained the title to the patent and is listed as an assignee. The presence of a government interest statement, as required by the Bayh-Dole Act, indicates the holder of a federal contract, grant, or cooperative research agreement has elected to retain the title of inventions conceived and reduced to practice during that contract.

About The Icons On the List Below

  • The icon takes you to the full text version of the patent at USPTO;
  • The icon takes you to the PDF version of the patent at USPTO; and
  • The icon takes you to the details about the patent on the FedInvent Details page.
  • When you use the icon the patent you are interested appears at the top of the list on the details page.

Click the Panel to See The Patents for Each Agency

Take Me To The Details

Department of Defense (DOD) Agencies

Patent Title
001 08042449
 
Vehicle protection system 
002 08043453
 
System and method for reworking composites 
003 08044103
 
Cyclic dipeptides and azetidinone compounds and their use in treating CNS injury and neurodegenerative disorders 
004 08045152
 
All optical nanoscale sensor 
005 08046200
 
Nonlinear function approximation over high-dimensional domains 
006 08046563
 
Virtual architectures in a parallel processing environment 

Department of the ARMY (DOA)

Patent Title
001 08042384
 
Fuel composition estimation and control of fuel injection 
002 08043453
 
System and method for reworking composites 
003 08044556
 
Highly efficient, charge depletion-mediated, voltage-tunable actuation efficiency and resonance frequency of piezoelectric semiconductor nanoelectromechanical systems resonators 
004 08045152
 
All optical nanoscale sensor 
005 08045257
 
Nonlinear harmonic generation and devices in doubly-resonant Kerr cavities 
006 08045505
 
Mechanism for automatic network formation and medium access coordination 
007 08046203
 
Method and apparatus for analysis of errors, accuracy, and precision of guns and direct and indirect fire control mechanisms 

Department of the Navy (DON) | United States Marine Corps (USMC)

Patent Title
001 08042228
 
Adjustable hinge mounting block 
002 08042255
 
Rapid fabrication techniques for arbitrary shape piezoelectric transducer sensors 
003 08042264
 
Method of fabricating an electroactive polymer transducer 
004 08042483
 
Apparatus for control of stator wakes 
005 08043861
 
Methods and apparatus for detecting exposure to hazardous substances 
006 08044637
 
Battery charging method 
007 08044672
 
Method for measuring D-Q impedance of polyphase power grid components 
008 08044839
 
Combined radar and communications link 
009 08044841
 
Geometry and sensitivity weighted dynamic multi-sensor selection system and method 
010 08044846
 
Method for deblurring radar range-doppler images 
011 08044857
 
System and method for correcting global navigation satellite system pseudorange measurements in receivers having controlled reception pattern antennas 
012 08044999
 
Image enhancer for detecting and identifying objects in turbid media 
013 08045419
 
Method for mitigating spatial aliasing 
014 08045505
 
Mechanism for automatic network formation and medium access coordination 
015 08045859
 
High-speed underwater data transmission system and method 
016 08046163
 
Interactive pedestrian routing method 
017 08046200
 
Nonlinear function approximation over high-dimensional domains 
018 08046322
 
Methods and framework for constraint-based activity mining (CMAP) 

Department of the Air Force (DAF)| United States Space Force (USSF)

Patent Title
001 08042403
 
Apparatus to control a linearly decreasing force 
002 08042767
 
Composite fabric with rigid member structure 
003 08043464
 
Systems and methods for assembling lightweight RF antenna structures 
004 08043810
 
Analyte detection using autocatalytic chain reactions 
005 08043980
 
Methods for making and using halosilylgermanes 
006 08045152
 
All optical nanoscale sensor 
007 08045972
 
Multimode wireless radio access network with distributed processing 
008 08046200
 
Nonlinear function approximation over high-dimensional domains 
009 08046426
 
Random linear coding approach to distributed data storage 

Up to Start Of Table

Take Me To The Details
Patent Title
001 08043286
 
Method and apparatus for plasma-mediated thermo-electrical ablation 
002 08043622
 
Method of treating inflammatory lung disease with suppressors of CpG oligonucleotides 
003 08043623
 
Immunogenic peptides for the treatment of prostate and breast cancer 
004 08043631
 
Tumor targeting drug-loaded particles 
005 08043801
 
Method of screening for agents to treat heart failure 
006 08043803
 
Slitrks as markers for stem and progenitor cells and methods of use thereof 
007 08043804
 
DBC1, a novel native inhibitor of anti-aging protein SIRT1 
008 08043809
 
Real-time PCR point mutation assays for detecting HIV-1 resistance to antiviral drugs 
009 08043820
 
Diagnostic methods for the detection of risk of autistic spectrum disorder 
010 08043830
 
Biotin-ligase system for secretion of biotinylated protein 
011 08043842
 
Bacteria with reduced genome 
012 08043846
 
Device and method for contacting picoliter volumes of fluid 
013 08043853
 
Postnatal gut neural crest stem cells 
014 08043856
 
Adenoviral vectors for influenza virus production 
015 08044018
 
Reagents and methods for smooth muscle therapies 
016 08044026
 
Composition for promoting cartilage formation or repair comprising a NELL gene product and method of treating cartilage-related conditions using such composition 
017 08044057
 
Methods for suppressing an immune response or treating a proliferative disorder 
018 08044089
 
3-3-di-substituted-oxindoles as inhibitors of translation initiation 
019 08044103
 
Cyclic dipeptides and azetidinone compounds and their use in treating CNS injury and neurodegenerative disorders 
020 08044185
 
Conformationally stabilized HIV envelope immunogens and triggering HIV-I envelope to reveal cryptic V3-loop epitopes 
021 08044186
 
Heterologous production of capreomycin and generation of new capreomycin derivatives through metabolic engineering 
022 08044187
 
Human luteinizing hormone superagonists 
023 08044189
 
Bacillus anthracis protective antigen nucleic acid sequences 
024 08044203
 
Chiral indole intermediates and their fluorescent cyanine dyes containing functional groups 
025 08044259
 
Determining the capability of a test compound to affect solid tumor stem cells 
026 08045263
 
Device and method for wide-field and high resolution imaging of tissue 
027 08045770
 
System and method for three-dimensional image rendering and analysis 

Up to Start Of Table

Emerging Technology

Emerging Climate Change Technologies

Patents containing 'Y" CPC symbols indicate emerging climate change and clean technology inventions.

About The Icons On the List Below

  • The icon takes you to the full text version of the patent at USPTO;
  • The icon takes you to the PDF version of the patent at USPTO; and
  • The icon takes you to the details about the patent on the FedInvent Details page.
  • When you use the icon the patent you are interested appears at the top of the list on the details page.
Class

About Y Emerging Technology Symbols

Patent documents that contain a Y02 or Y04 CPC symbol are already classified elsewhere. USPTO adds the Y symbols to the classification data to monitor new technological developments covering clean technology and inventions impacting climate change, important American science and technology interests.

Y02 — Green House Gas Mitigation

Y02 covers selected technologies, that control, reduce, or prevent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and technologies that allow adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. Y02A covers technologies for adaptation to climate change, — technologies that allow adapting to the adverse effects of climate change in human, industrial (including agriculture and livestock), and economic activities. Y02P covers climate change mitigation technologies in any kind of industrial processing or production activity, including the agroalimentary industry (relating to agriculture and food), agriculture, fishing, ranching and the like.

Y04 — Enabling Technologies

Y04 is focused on the information and communications inventions that facilitate climate change technology. Y04S covers systems integrating technologies related to power network operation, communication, or information technologies for improving electrical power generation, transmission, distribution, management, or usage. Examples of the art covered here are technologies related to smart grids, home appliances, and systems supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles.

The Health Complex

This section contains the count of patents funded by The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) institute; and HHS subagencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and others. These agencies together are called the Health Complex.

Department | Agency This Week This Year
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)271483
National Institutes of Health (NIH)181340
National Cancer Institute (NCI)4202
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)2118
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)115
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)167
National Institute on Aging (NIA)118
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)179
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)141
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)222

Up to Start Of Table

Higher Education Research and Development (HERD)

FedInvent follows the HERD the Higher Education Research and Development institutions — the colleges and universities; research institutions, and medical schools that benefit from federal funding and rely on it to make important discoveries that drive American innovation. Taxpayer-funded patents coming from American and sometimes foreign universities are an important indicia of the vitality of the American innovation ecosphere.

MEMBERS OF THE HERD

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey is the primary source of information on R&D expenditures at 916 US colleges and universities that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted for R&D in the fiscal year. We use the NSF list to keep track of which colleges and universities are receiving taxpayer-funded patents and filing patent applications.

WATCH This SPACE

We're working on our data analytics and will be reporting taxpayer-funded patents and patent applications shortly. In the meantime, FedInvent will post interesting information about the HERD Innovation Ecosphere here.

Top Ten Universities By R&D Expenditures
  1. Johns Hopkins University
  2. University of Michigan
  3. University of Washington
  4. University of California, San Diego
  5. University of California, San Francisco
  6. Columbia University in the City of New York
  7. Stanford University
  8. University Pittsburgh
  9. University Pennsylvania
  10. Duke University

Count By Tech Center

Patents organized by count and Technology Center where the patent was examined.

Tech Center Count
1600 Biotechnology and Organic Chemistry 30
2800 Semiconductors, Electrical and Optical Systems and Components 19
1700 Chemical and Materials Engineering 15
3600 Transportation, Electronic Commerce, Construction, Agriculture, Licensing and Review 12
2100 Computer Architecture Software and Information Security 6
2600 Communications 5
2400 Computer Networks, Multiplex, Cable and Cryptography/Security 3
3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Gaming and Medical Devices/Processes 3

For more information on the types of inventions examined in each Technology Center, see the About Tech Centers section of this page.

Patents By Scientific Domain.

This section contains the number of patents by high level scientific and technical domain. The data is arranged by the first Cooperative Patent Classification System (CPC) patent symbol assigned to the patent. This indicates the scope and nature of the invention for a patent or a patent application.

Global patent offices use patent classification as their lingua franca — the common language — for exchanging information about inventions and what scientific and technical art a patent contains. The classifications assigned to a patent are used by patent examiners to find prior art and to determine if a particular patent's claims are novel. Patent classifications are also used for global enforcement of patent rights, treaties, and agreements.

Class Class Definition First
(Original)
Inventive
(CrossRef)
USPC 435 Chemistry: Molecular biology and microbiology 12 0
USPC 514 Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions 6 0
USPC 342 Communications: Directive radio wave systems and devices 4 0
USPC 536 Organic compounds 4 0
USPC 156 Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture 3 0
USPC 424 Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions 3 0
USPC 029 Metal working 2 0
USPC 073 Measuring and testing 2 0
USPC 136 Batteries: Thermoelectric and photoelectric 2 0
USPC 250 Radiant energy 2 0
USPC 324 Electricity: Measuring and testing 2 0
USPC 356 Optics: Measuring and testing 2 0
USPC 359 Optical: Systems and elements 2 0
USPC 382 Image analysis 2 0
USPC 428 Stock material or miscellaneous articles 2 0
USPC 438 Semiconductor device manufacturing: Process 2 0
USPC 702 Data processing: Measuring, calibrating, or testing 2 0
USPC 703 Data processing: Structural design, modeling, simulation, and emulation 2 0
USPC 706 Data processing: Artificial intelligence 2 0
USPC 800 Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and related processes 2 0
USPC 005 Beds 1 0
USPC 016 Miscellaneous hardware 1 0
USPC 052 Static structures 1 0
USPC 089 Ordnance 1 0
USPC 095 Gas separation: Processes 1 0
USPC 114 Ships 1 0
USPC 166 Wells 1 0
USPC 235 Registers 1 0
USPC 244 Aeronautics and astronautics 1 0
USPC 257 Active solid-state devices 1 0
USPC 310 Electrical generator or motor structure 1 0
USPC 313 Electric lamp and discharge devices 1 0
USPC 318 Electricity: Motive power systems 1 0
USPC 320 Electricity: Battery or capacitor charging or discharging 1 0
USPC 326 Electronic digital logic circuitry 1 0
USPC 348 Television 1 0
USPC 367 Communications, electrical: Acoustic wave systems and devices 1 0
USPC 370 Multiplex communications 1 0
USPC 398 Optical communications 1 0
USPC 423 Chemistry of inorganic compounds 1 0
USPC 427 Coating processes 1 0
USPC 429 Chemistry: Electrical current producing apparatus, product, and process 1 0
USPC 436 Chemistry: Analytical and immunological testing 1 0
USPC 455 Telecommunications 1 0
USPC 546 Organic compounds 1 0
USPC 556 Organic compounds 1 0
USPC 606 Surgery 1 0
USPC 701 Data processing: Vehicles, navigation, and relative location 1 0
USPC 709 Electrical computers and digital processing systems: Multicomputer data transferring 1 0
USPC 712 Electrical computers and digital processing systems: Processing architectures and instruction processing 1 0
USPC 717 Data processing: Software development, installation, and management 1 0
USPC 726 Information security 1 0
USPC PLT Plants 1 0

Up to Start Of Table

Count of Inventors by Country and U.S. State

Patent count by country and state based on the location information of first named inventors and of all inventors on the patent.

Country First Named Inventors All Inventors
United States of America 91 273
Canada 1 2
United Kingdom 1 2
China PRC 0 2
Japan 0 2
Australia 0 1
Hungary 0 1
India 0 1
U.S. State First Named Inventors All Inventors
California 20 78
Maryland 10 28
Massachusetts 9 26
New York 7 20
New Jersey 4 8
Rhode Island 4 6
Virginia 3 10
Wisconsin 3 9
Arizona 3 8
Illinois 3 7
New Mexico 3 5
Texas 2 12
North Carolina 2 10
Pennsylvania 2 6
Washington 2 5
New Hampshire 2 3
District of Columbia 1 4
Idaho 1 4
Ohio 1 4
Arkansas 1 3
Colorado 1 3
Florida 1 3
Michigan 1 3
Connecticut 1 2
Georgia 1 2
Delaware 1 1
Missouri 1 1
South Carolina 1 1
Mississippi 0 1

Up to Start Of Table

Count of Assignees and Applicants by Country and U.S. State

Patent count by country and state based on location information of Assignees and Applicants.

Country Assignees Applicants
United States of America 940
United Kingdom 10
U.S. State Assignees Applicants
District of Columbia 200
Massachusetts 140
California 130
New York 70
Illinois 60
Maryland 50
Michigan 50
Wisconsin 30
Arizona 20
North Carolina 20
Texas 20
Arkansas 10
Colorado 10
Connecticut 10
Delaware 10
Florida 10
Idaho 10
Minnesota 10
Missouri 10
Nevada 10
New Hampshire 10
New Jersey 10
New Mexico 10
Pennsylvania 10
South Carolina 10
Virginia 10

Up to Start Of Table

Technology Center Explainer

How Tech Centers and Art Units Are Organized And Why It Matters

Patents travel from Technology Center to Art Unit to Group Art Unit to Patent Examiner.

The USPTO's patent corps is organized into Technology Centers (TCs), groups of patent examiners with specific scientific and technical domain expertise. Technology Centers are further divided into Art Units (AUs) organized by major types of inventive art within a scientific or technical domain. Art Units are organized into Group Art Units, even more specialized and granular teams of examiners.

Group Art Units (GAUs) are where patent examiners prosecute patent applications. Patent applications are docketed to examiners based on specific subject matter classifications of a particular GAU.

Understanding Technology Centers, Art Units, and Group Art Units helps you understand what type of inventions are being prosecuted within each scientific and technical domain, how long it takes from the date a patent application is filed to the time a final decision on the patentability of the invention is made.

Technology Centers and Art Units

Click or touch the accordion panel to open it and see the way different types of inventions are grouped together within Art Units.

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
1610 Organic Compounds: Bio-affecting, Body Treating, Drug Delivery, Steroids, Herbicides, Pesticides, Cosmetics, and Drugs
1620 Organic Chemistry
1630 Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Nucleic Acids, Recombinant DNA and RNA, Gene Regulation, Nucleic Acid Amplification, Animals and Plants, Combinatorial/ Computational Chemistry
1640 Immunology, Receptor/Ligands, Cytokines Recombinant Hormones, and Molecular Biology
1650 Fermentation, Microbiology, Isolated and Recombinant Proteins/Enzyme
1660 Plants

About Plant Patents

Plant Patents are granted to an inventor who has invented, or discovered and asexually reproduced a distinct and new variety of plant, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. If you've ever eaten a pluot, you've enjoyed the fruit of a plant patent.

Plant patent numbers begin with a "PP" followed by a five digit number. The first Plant Patent was issued in 1931. Plant patents are valid for 20 years from the filing date.

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
1710 Coating, Etching, Cleaning, Single Crystal Growth
1720 Fuel Cells, Batteries, Solar Cells, Liquid Crystal Composition
1730 Metallurgy, Metal Working, Inorganic Chemistry, Catalysts, Electrophotography, Photolithography
1740 Tires, Adhesive Bonding, Glass/Paper making, Plastics Shaping & Molding
1760 Organic Chemistry, Polymers, Compositions
1770 Chemical Apparatus, Separation and Purification, Liquid and Gas Contact Apparatus
1780 Miscellaneous Articles, Stock Material, Adhesive Composition, Fabrics
1790 Food, Analytical Chemistry, Sterilization, Biochemistry, Electrochemistry

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
2110 Coating, Etching, Cleaning, Single Crystal Growth
2120 Miscellaneous Articles, Stock Material, Adhesive Composition, Fabrics
2130 Fuel Cells, Batteries, Solar Cells, Liquid Crystal Composition
2140/2170 Metallurgy, Metal Working, Inorganic Chemistry, Catalysts, Electrophotography, Photolithography
2150/2160 Tires, Adhesive Bonding, Glass/Paper making, Plastics Shaping & Molding
2180 Organic Chemistry, Polymers, Compositions
2190 Chemical Apparatus, Separation and Purification, Liquid and Gas Contact Apparatus

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
2410/2460/2470 Multiplex, VoIP
2420 Cable and Television
2430/2490 Cryptography and Security
2440/2450 Computer Networks
2480 Recording and Compression

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
2610 Computer Graphic Processing, 3D Animation, Display Color Attribute, Object Processing, Hardware and Memory
2620 Selective Visual Display Systems
2630 Digital and Optical Communications
2640 Telecommunications: Analog Radio Telephone; Satellite and Power Control; Transceivers, Measuring and Testing; Bluetooth; Receivers and Transmitters; Equipment Details
2650 Videophones and Telephonic Communications; Audio Signals; Digital Audio Data Processing; Linguistics, Speech Processing and Audio Compression
2660 Digital Cameras; Image Analysis; Applications; pattern Recognition; Color and Compression; Enhancement and Transformation
2670 Facsimile; Printer; Color; halftone; Scanner; Computer Graphic Processing; 3-D Animation; Display Color; Attributes; Object Processing; Hardware and Memory
2680 Telemetry and Code Generation; Vehicles and System Alarms; Selective Communication; Dynamic Storage Systems; Mechanical parts of Disk Drives; Signal Processing and Control Processing in Disk Drives
2690 Selective Visual Display Systems

More broadly TC 2800 Art Units cover Semiconductors/Memory, Circuits/Measuring and Testing, Optics/Photocopying, Printing/Measuring and Testing.

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
2810/2820/2890 Semiconductors/Memory
2830/2840 Electrical Circuits and Systems
2850/2860 Printing/Measuring and Testing
2870/2880 Optics

About Design Patents

The design FOR an article. Not to the design OF an article.

Patents examined here cover Design patents cover the appearance of an article. The design for an article consists of the visual characteristics embodied in or applied to an article. Since a design is manifested in appearance, the subject matter of a design patent application may relate to the configuration or shape of an article, to the surface ornamentation applied to an article, or to the combination of configuration and surface ornamentation.

Design is inseparable from the article to which it is applied and cannot exist alone merely as a scheme of surface ornamentation. It must be a definite, preconceived thing, capable of reproduction and not merely the chance result of a method.

Design patent numbers begin with a "D" followed by a six digit number. The first Design Patent was issued in 1843. The term of a design patent is 15 years measured from the date of grant, if the design application was filed on or after May 13, 2015 (or 14 years if filed before May 13, 2015).

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
3610 Surface Transportation
3620 Business Methods — Incentive Programs, Coupons; Operations Research; Electronic Shopping; Health Care; Point of Sale, Inventory, Accounting; Cost/Price, Reservations, Shipping and Transportation; Business Processing
3630 Static Structures, Supports and Furniture
3640 Aeronautics, Agriculture, Fishing, Trapping, Vermin Destroying, Plant and Animal Husbandry, Weaponry, Nuclear Systems, and License and Review
3650 Material and Article Handling
3660 Computerized Vehicle Controls and Navigation, Radio Wave, Optical and Acoustic Wave Communication, Robotics, and Nuclear Systems
3670 Wells, Earth Boring/Moving/Working, Excavating, Mining, Harvesters, Bridges, Roads, Petroleum, Closures, Connections, and Hardware
3680 Business Methods — Incentive Programs, Coupons; Electronic Shopping; Business Cryptography, Voting; Health Care; Point of Sale, Inventory, Accounting; Business Processing, Electronic Negotiation
3690 Business Methods — Finance/Banking/ Insurance

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
3710 Amusement and Education Devices
3720 Manufacturing Devices and Processes, Machine Tools and Hand Tools
3730 Sheet Container Making, Package Making, Receptacles, Shoes, Apparel, and Tool Driving or Impacting
3740 Thermal and Combustion Technology, Motive and Fluid Power Systems
3750 Fluid Handling and Dispensing
3760 Refrigeration, Vaporization, Ventilation, and Combustion
3770 Medical & Surgical Instruments, Treatment Devices, Surgery and Surgical Supplies
3780 Body Treatment, Kinestherapy, and Exercising

Patents examined here cover:

Art Unit Technical & Scientific Domains
3970 Express Abandonments
3990 Central Reexamination Unit

FedInvent Patents

Each week FedInvent analyzes newly granted patents and published patent applications whose origins lead back to funding from the US federal government. We assemble a weekly patent catalog and analyze the inventions, the inventors, and the entities who received the patents. We map the patents back to the agency that funded the R&D that led to the new invention. FedInvent uses the funding opportunity descriptions, the grants, and the contracts that define the research areas of interest, and the R&D policies and priorities of that drove and are driving the funding to organize each week's patents.

ABOUT OUR DATA

The weekly patent catalog includes patents with government interest statements indicating federal funding; and patents where the assignee, the owner of the invention, is the federal government. This includes work on federal grants, work on federal contracts, innovation by Federal Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) funded by Federal Departments and University Affiliated Research Centers funded by DoD.

Not every inventor is a government contractor. There are many inventions conceived and patented by scientists and engineers working for the federal government or serving in the military.

THE NUMBERS MAY NOT MATCH THE NUMBER OF PATENTS WE ANALYZE EACH WEEK

The numbers in the tables presented on this page will not add up to the number of patents granted each week because patents are counted by each agency that funded the creation of the invention. Patents and funding have a many-to-many relationship. One patent may have more than one funding grant or contract associated with it. A grant or contract may lead to more than one patent. More than one agency may have funded the inventors or the contract. More than one university or business may have worked together on an invention. When we report the numbers here, we associate a patent with all of the entities and funding that are reflected on the patent and report them to you. This approach presents a more complete picture of what's going on in the federal innovation ecosphere. Put another way, the numbers in the tables presented on this page may not always add up to the number of patents each week because patents are counted by each agency that funded the creation of the invention.

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