The glut of patents that bombarded major patent offices in the late nineties appears to be on the wane; patent approval rates have also dropped. According to the US Department of Commerce, in 2002, 33,131 biotech patents were pending and 23,992 were granted. Over the past decade, companies have dramatically overtaken research institutions and government as patentees: in 1993, companies received just 3% of all patent approvals; last year, they claimed almost seven out of ten new patents.

Credit: Source: Federal Circuit Bar Journal
Credit: Source: DNA Patent Project at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
Credit: Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
Credit: Source: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
Credit: Source: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner