Patents Filed Are Up 6% From 2007 - 11% From 2006

The current state of the economy is producing more inventions if the amount of patents filed is a measure.

According to a recent article in Forbes online "Last year, 495,000 patent applications were filed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, up 6% from 2007 and 11% from 2006. Applicants range from large corporations to at-home tinkers."

Oddly enough Idaho is the second runner up in number of patents filed per state.

It's not just big companies filing patents, individuals or at home inventors "rank in the top three patent recipients for the 14 of 15 most patent-prolific states. That fraction may increase as large firms cut back on R&D to conserve cash."
Forbes