Backlog of unexamined patent applications

<p>Although not clearly defined, the backlog of unexamined patent applications consists, at one point in time, of all the <a href="/facts/Patent_application/ACHxPn3A">patent applications</a> that have been filed and still remain to be <a href="/facts/Patent_examination/ACHxPn3A">examined</a>. The backlog was said to be 4.2 million worldwide in 2007, and in 2009 it reportedly continued to grow. The <a href="/facts/United_States_Patent_and_Trademark_Office/97KdJB6h">United States Patent and Trademark Office</a> (USPTO) alone had a backlog of ca. 700,000 patent applications in 2009. By May 22, 2024 this number grew to 783,134 applications.
</p><p>Although the overall economic effect of long patent examination time has not been reliably estimated, recent statistical studies found that patent grant delays have a stronger damaging effect on <a href="/facts/Startups/9lsjFELt">startups</a> than on established companies. In particular, such delays reduce a startup's employment and sales growth, chances of survival, access to external capital, and future innovation. What is more surprising is that the delays also harm the growth, access to external capital, and follow-on innovation of the patentee's rivals.
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Backlog of unexamined patent applications open-in-new

Backlog of unexamined patent applications