Nickel Inventions at Record Pace
THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS
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THE NUMBER OF US PATENTS that contain the word nickel has generally increased since 1978.
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THE NUMBER OF US PATENTS that contain the word nickel relative to the total number of patents issued
remains constant year-to-year at about five to six percent.
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CLICK THE "LARGER VIEW" ICON below to see the table above. It lists six recent patents that were issued
by the U.S. Patent office that involve nickel.
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To be sustainable, businesses need to innovate continuously and many inventions need nickel
Nickel Magazine, March 2006 -- In the United States, the number of patents
involving nickel is expected to reach a record high in 2006.
A search of the U.S. Patent Office’s database reveals that in January 2006 about 1,000 patents contained the word "nickel".
If this pace continues for the balance of the year, more than 12,000 such patents will be issued; that’s significantly more than the 11,389 recorded in 2003, the previous record.
The data (presented in the accompanying charts) illustrate the important role nickel plays in technological innovation in the United States. The word "nickel" has appeared in an increasing number of documents of patented technologies in the country since 1979 whereas, over the same period, the percentage of the total number of patents issued remained constant at between 5% and 6%.
What does this tell us about the sustainability of the nickel industry in the United States? "The numbers are impressive, but what nickel is bringing to all these processes and products is even more so," says Bruce McKean, Director, Sustainable Development and Stewardship for the Nickel Institute. "Society will be doing more with less, because of nickel."
The United States grants more patents than any other jurisdiction, followed by Japan, Europe and China. A
patent gives the right to exclude others from using an invention for 20 years.
CHARTS: by Constructive Communications with data from the U.S. Patent office.
U.S. Patent Office |
