The West Coast is a hub of high technology, from information and computing technology to aerospace.  Silicon Valley, Southern California (San Diego to Los Angeles) and the Seattle metropolitan area dominate this region in terms of patent production.  As we see in the map, the area outside Portland, Oregon as well as Las Vegas and Phoenix are also hotbeds of innovation. Still, in terms of total patent production, California leads the region with Washington a distant second.

Top patent producing organizations include not only the well-known Silicon Valley firms – Intel, Qualcomm, Apple, and Google – but also Amazon in Washington and Nike in Oregon. Two entities under the Microsoft corporate umbrella (Microsoft Technology Licensing and Microsoft Corporation) are also key producers of patented innovation in the region.

The number of forward citations a patent receives is indicative of its value and influence on future innovation. Highly cited patents (those having 100+ citations) are particularly impactful. Patents in electrical engineering, instrument and chemistry from California lead the way in terms influence. The most influential patents originating from the West Coast region involve electrical engineering. California generates, by far, the most highly cited patents, including those for electrical engineering but also those related to instrument technology and chemistry. 

These observations reinforce the West Coast’s reputation as a global leader in high tech innovation.

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Silicon Valley Regional Office is located in San Jose, California and serves Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The goal of the Silicon Valley Regional Office is to promote innovation and stimulate the economy by connecting entrepreneurs to government resources, supporting students and teachers through our STEM education programs, gathering feedback from regional stakeholders, and recruiting diverse talent from the region. For more information, see https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/uspto-locations/silicon-valley-california.

Data for this post was derived from the PatentsView website and database:  https://www.patentsview.org