UCF Ranks in Top 20 of Public Universities for 2015 U.S. Patents
July 18, 2016
The University of Central Florida ranked 19th in the nation among public universities and 40th in the world for the number of U.S. patents it secured in 2015, according to a new listing by the National Academy of Inventors.
UCF secured 50 utility patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2015, ranking just ahead of Duke University, the University of Rochester and Indiana University.
Utility patents also are known as patents for invention, and they make up the vast majority of patents issued by the office. UCF received an additional 30 patents in other categories, giving the university a total of 80 for the year, but rankings are based solely on utility patents.
UCF, the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, which together represent the Florida High Tech Corridor, had 245 total U.S. patents, exceeding Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, the Research Triangle universities in North Carolina, which had a total of 131 patents.
“This recognition demonstrates the power of universities to produce research that saves and improves lives,” said Elizabeth Klonoff, UCF’s new vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies. “And we are proud to play a critical role in innovation that not only elevates the pursuit of knowledge, but also solves real-world problems.”
In 2015, UCF’s Office of Technology Transfer worked with 173 innovators who began the commercialization process by submitting an invention-disclosure form, which is the first step toward earning a patent. Since UCF began, it has secured more than 835 patents.
UCF’s ranking is from the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Association Top 100 Worldwide University Granted Patents in 2015 report. The list is based on data gathered from the Patent and Trademark Office.
Written by Barbara Abney