USPTO is key to the U.S. economy – responsible for 2/3 of total U.S. GDP

Research has shown that inventing and entrepreneurship are crucial to the United States’ economic success; however, it has also revealed significant disparities in opportunities to innovate across the country. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a vital role in ensuring equity in innovation and is working to address these concerning statistics. Below, we explore how expanding access to the innovation ecosystem is key to both our nation’s competitiveness and our citizens’ well-being.

Maintaining our nation’s position as a leader in global innovation

In 2019, IP-intensive industries supported 63 million jobs, accounted for 41% of the total U.S. GDP, and provided 60% higher average wages.

The importance of American innovation and intellectual property (IP) protection has its earliest roots in article I, section 8, clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which “promote[s] the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries,” and in article I, section 8, clause 3, which supports the federal registration of trademarks.

IP is as crucial to our economy today as it was over 200 years ago. In 2019, for example, IP-intensive industries directly and indirectly supported 63 million jobs, and 41% of the total U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was attributable to those industries. Also in 2019, workers in IP-intensive industries earned an average weekly wage that was 60% higher than the average weekly wage in other industries.