PENNSYLVANIA INVENTION INDEX – MARCH 2025

The Invention Index measures a country’s or state’s innovation output by comparing GDP growth with patent production growth. 

Pennsylvania Invention Index March 2025: 1.10% (B grade)

Pennsylvania Invention Index over the last year:

Anything over C grade is positive sentiment; anything under C is negative outlook/sentiment. Using that sentiment, it is possible to observe trends over time, and also compare states/countries. In doing so we can predict which states have the best chance to recover economically from the pandemic (or any other economic incident that may occur).

Invention Index Analysis: Pennsylvania (Sept 2024 – Mar 2025)

Comparison with Previous Months:
The March 2025 score of 1.10% reflects a slight decline from February’s 1.11%. This marks the second consecutive month of minor decreases, though both are less than 0.03%, indicating a relatively stable trend. Compared to the peak in October 2024 (1.20%), March’s score represents a modest but steady drop.

Long-Term Trends:
Over the six-month span, the scores exhibit a subtle downward trend. After October’s high point, the Index dipped to 1.00% in November—the lowest in the period—before rebounding to 1.12% in December. Since then, scores have gradually declined month to month, albeit with very narrow margins.

Significant Changes:
November 2024 stands out with a drop to 1.00%, a significant 0.20% decrease from the previous month. This dip was the sharpest in the timeframe, disrupting an otherwise stable range. However, recovery began immediately in December. October 2024 also marks a notable high with the Index reaching 1.20%.

Contextualizing the Data:
March 2025’s score of 1.10% is consistent with the softening trend observed since January. While not as high as the early months, it remains within a tight band of variation. The recent slight decreases do not yet suggest a major downturn but rather a stabilization following a volatile period in late 2024.

Discussion:

In March, the Pennsylvania Invention Index scored a positive sentiment which was lower than the previous year’s average and underperformed the downward trend for the year. This is in contrast to the prior 12 months, which experienced an upward trend. As the world continues to recover from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is unclear if there is any backlog of applications awaiting approval or if the department has fully caught up. If approvals are not yet caught up, we may see a decrease in approvals – and a reduced Invention Index – in the coming months/years as the state feels the full economic impact of companies closing and/or being forced to minimize their staffing and therefore minimize their R&D work hours.

Learn more about the Invention Index here.

Are you thinking of patenting any of your bright ideas? Did you know your research work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

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