Figures for patent applications and grants
Published 13 November 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/figures-for-patent-applications-and-grants/figures-for-patent-applications-and-grants
Date of release:
15 February 2021
Information request:
Patent applications and grants 1970 to 1979, and for the years 2020 and 2000.
Information released:
According to our annual reports, the figures you asked for are as follows:
| Year | Patent applications | Patents granted |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 62,101 | 40,004 |
| 1971 | 61,078 | 38,989 |
| 1972 | 60,281 | 41,609 |
| 1973 | 60,312 | 40,440 |
| 1974 | 56,250 | 35,883 |
| 1975 | 53,400 | 39,019 |
| 1976 | 54,561 | 41,755 |
| 1977 | 54,423 | 35,442 |
| 1978 | 50,324 | 40,148 |
| 1979 | 44,666 | 43,616 * |
| 2000 | 31,412 | 8,253 |
*An additional 28,149 patents appear to have been granted in 1979, relating to applications made under the old patents law, the Patents Act 1949, which was replaced in 1977.
The figures for 2020 are not yet available, but you can find the monthly patent application figures from January until November 2020. An update is due for release by the end of March. The total figure for grants will be in our annual Facts and Figures publication, which we hope to publish on our website in May 2021.
If the 2019 figures would be useful you can find them on Facts and figures: patent, trade mark, design and hearing data 2019 .