Female Patent Holders Increase in Recent Years

A new study commissioned by the National Women's Business Council (NWBC) shows that over the past 35 years, female patent holders have grown at an accelerating rate. The study is based on preliminary findings from a review of patents granted between 1975 and 2010. According to the NWBC, female patent holders have increased every year from 2008 to 2010:

• 2010 - 22,984 patents
• 2009 - 17,061 patents
• 2008 - 16,321 patents

Female inventors have long held an important place in American patent history. According to the USPTO:

• 1809 - Mary Dixon Kies received the first U.S. patent awarded to a woman for a process of weaving straw with silk or thread.
• 1884/1885 - Judy W. Reed and Sarah E. Goode were the first African American women inventors to receive patents. Reed's Patent no. 305,474 is for a dough kneader and roller. Goode's Patent no. 322,177 is for a cabinet bed.
• 1903 - Mary Anderson was granted patent no. 743,801 for a window-cleaning device, essentially windshield wipers.
• 1971- Patsy O. Sherman received patent no. 3,574,791 for block and graft copolymers containing water-solvatable polar groups and fluoroaliphatic groups, otherwise known as Scotchgard®.

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