It took one tenth of the time to get from 6 million to 7 million as it took to get to the first million patents in the U. S. Patent Office. Patent number 7 million was issued to a DuPont senior researcher for “polysaccharide fibers, a biodegradable fiber that has cotton-like properties used for textiles.
It took from 1836 to 1911 to get to 1 million patents, but only seven years to go from 6 to 7 million. Prior to 1836 patents weren’t numbered and it is estimated that there were approximately 10,000 patents issued from the first one in 1790 to 1836.
In 1899, Charles H. Duell, former Commissioner of the U. S. Patent Office stated, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” How wrong he was!
The USA continues to be a technological innovator. My guess is that patent number 8 million will happen in less time than number 7 million.
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