The map at left displays the total and per capita (using 2010 Census figures) number of utility patents, or "patents for invention," by state granted between 1963 and 2013.

This graph of the number of patents for inventions granted to companies and individuals in Maine between 1963 and 2013 reveals a series of peaks and valleys that correspond to times of economic prosperity and of recession, such as the drop from 142 to 110 patents issued between 2006 to 2007. It wasn't until 2010 that the number of patents issued annually to Maine passed the 200 mark.

Maine patents by year 1963-2013

INTERACTIVE: T.E.D. Andrick