WASHINGTON – The
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
today officially issued U.S. patent number 11 million, recognizing an
important milestone in American innovation and ingenuity.
“This
momentous benchmark is a reminder of the remarkable and enduring
tradition of American innovation that has driven our nation forward for
generations,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Building
our economy back stronger requires new ideas and innovative solutions
from every sector. I am proud to recognize patent 11 million, its
inventors, and its promise.”
“Since
the founding of our nation, American inventors have driven our culture
and commerce with incredible ideas that have improved every function of
our lives,” said Drew Hirshfeld, performing the functions and duties of
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director
of the USPTO. “We owe a debt of gratitude to inventors who continue to
show up day after day with solutions to the world’s most pressing
problems. We congratulate the inventors behind patent 11 million and all
of the innovators who helped the country reach this milestone.”
Patent number 11 million,
granted to co-inventors Saravana B. Kumar and Jason S. Diedering of 4C
Medical Technologies, Inc. in Maple Grove, Minnesota, is for a utility
patent that provides a new method for delivering, positioning, and/or
repositioning a collapsible and expandable stent frame within a
patient’s heart chamber.
“We
are incredibly excited and honored to be granted U.S. patent number 11
million for our invention,” said inventor Saravana Kumar. ”The 4C
Medical beginning is a true story of American entrepreneurship, where
Jason and I worked in a garage many nights and weekends to turn this
idea into reality. We could not have gotten here without the support of
so many, including my wife Katherine and 4C Medical’s founder, physician
Dr. Jeff Chambers. Currently, our team is actively working to
demonstrate the benefits of our technology to treat patients with severe
mitral regurgitation as part of a U.S. clinical trial.”
“4C
Medical’s approach to inventing is simple—we identified a need, created
a solution, and demonstrated its benefits. We are a team of highly
driven and creative engineers who are committed to bringing lifesaving
technologies to people who need it most,” explained inventor
Jason Diedering.
Background on the U.S. patent system
Patents
predating the Patent Act of 1836 were unnumbered, identifiable only by
the name of the patentee and the date of issue. These patents became
known as “X-patents” after Patent No. 1
was granted to Senator John Ruggles on July 11, 1836 for a traction
wheel for steam locomotives—the first patent issued under the new law,
which officially assigned patent numbers. A few months after the Patent
Act of 1836 was enacted, a catastrophic fire at the Patent Office
destroyed almost all of the records and models related to the X-patents.
Efforts to reconstruct the records lost in the fire continue to this
day.
Patent 11 million comes three years after the USPTO issued patent number 10 million
in 2018. As part of that celebration, the USPTO redesigned the official
U.S. patent cover—the seal-and-ribbon document awarded with each patent
grant—paying homage to the classic elegance of its predecessors. A list
of the patent milestones can be found here.