Patents that remain pending or in prosecution for a long time to the tune of several years or a decade or more are called submarine patents.
We considered patents filed between 1980-2010 that were in prosecution for more than 10 years. There are 7400 Submarine patents out of which 5745 are still active.
Total US Submarine Patents (1980-2010)
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Active US Submarine Patents (1980-2010)
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