USPTO Releases List of Top 13 Universities Receiving Most Patents in 2005

For the 12th consecutive year, the University of California tops all universities for the most patents for inventions, according to a list recently released by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. The preliminary list reveals the top 13 U.S. universities receiving the most utility patents during calendar year 2005. All campuses are included in each school's total.

While the University of California's 390 patents in 2005 earned it top honors again, the figure reflects an 8 percent decline from the institution's 424 total in 2004 and 11 percent less than 2003. The California Institute of Technology experienced an even greater drop in patent activity between 2004 and 2005, slipping 25 percent to third overall with 101 patents. Massachusetts Institute of Technology moved into second with 136, a 3 percent increase over 2004.

[Editor's Note: The 2005 figures for U.C. and CalTech are the lowest for both schools since before 2001 (earliest year available), generating some interesting questions regarding possible causes (dot-com bubble, depth of the recession locally, relocation of star researchers, etc.) and if there are any policy concerns as a result. Since much of the research on university spillovers is based on patents, does the drop in patent activity in the two California systems reflect changes at the institutions that could impact the schools' contributions to the regional knowledge-based economy? Are trends in university patent activity an effective measure of regional innovation potential or the institution's research contribution?]

The University of Florida showed the most marked improvement with 64 patents in 2004, an increase of 56 percent for the number of patents awarded. All other institutions on the list posted increases as well:

• Stanford University, 90 patents in 2005 (20 percent increase)
• University of Wisconsin, 77 (20 percent increase)
• University of Michigan, 71 (11 percent increase)
• Columbia University, 57 (10 percent increase)
• Georgia Institute of Technology, 43 (16 percent increase)
• University of Pennsylvania, 43 (34 percent increase)
• Cornell University, 41 (2 percent increase)

Declines in 2005  patent activity among the top schools occurred at the University of Texas with 90 patents (11 percent decrease from 2004) and Johns Hopkins University with 71 (24 percent decrease from 2004). The University of Illinois fell off the list from 2004, posting 58 patents in 2004 but apparently less than 41 in 2005 - the lowest figure on the Patent Office list for 2005.