Five State University System institutions are ranked among the Top 35 public universities granted U.S. utility patents in 2017, according to a new report by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
Among all public universities in the United States, University of South Florida ranked fifth with 116 patents, University of Florida Research Foundation ranked sixth with 111 patents, Florida International University ranked 26th with 42 patents, University of Central Florida ranked 28th with 39 patents, and Florida State University ranked 34th with 34 patents.
“Florida’s public universities continue to exemplify the incredible impact that research and innovation have on the state of Florida,” said Alan Levine, chair of the Board of Governors’ Academic and Research Excellence Committee. “I’m pleased to congratulate the universities on this prestigious list and to thank them for advancing so many important discoveries and inventions that benefit humankind and fuel our economy.”
The report utilizes data acquired from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to highlight the important role patents play in university research and innovation.
“The institutions on this list are doing incredible work promoting academic innovation and incubating groundbreaking technologies which exemplify the importance of technology transfer to institutional success,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the National Academy of Inventors. “We are proud to collaborate with the Intellectual Property Owners for the sixth consecutive year, and it is a privilege to showcase the vital contributions to society made by universities.”
The five universities are Member Institutions of the National Academy of Inventors, as are all 12 universities in the State University System of Florida.
The National Academy of Inventors is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutes, with over 4,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 250 institutions. The headquarters are located in the University of South Florida Research Park in Tampa. The Intellectual Property Owners Association, established in 1972, is a trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.
“University patents help to ignite a culture of growth and innovation which in turn stimulates local, regional and global economies and generates funding for future research initiatives,” said Mark W. Lauroesch, the Intellectual Property Owners Association Executive Director. “The Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents is a report which demonstrates the critical role universities play in patents, licensing and commercialization.”
The National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners have published the report annually since 2013. The rankings are compiled by calculating the number of utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that lists a university as the first assignee on the issued patent. For the purposes of the report, a university is defined as an institution that grants undergraduate-level degrees.
The full report of the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted Patents in 2017 can be found here.
