There are some big changes in the patent landscape hiding behind a small drop in the number of utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last year.

The 1 percent decline in utility patent grants — the first since 2007 — follows three successive years of more than 8 percent growth, according to analysis by IFI Claims Patent Services.

Grants to IT companies have driven growth in recent years but even IBM, which has topped the patent rankings for 23 years, received fewer grants last year (7,355) than in 2014 (7,534).

Behind the stagnation in overall numbers are some big changes in the classes in which the USPTO is granting patents.

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