Patent Law News

USPTO Releases List of Top 10 Universities Receiving Most Patents in 2003

The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the top 10 U.S. universities receiving the most patents during calendar year 2003. Listed below are the 10 universities receiving the most patents for inventions in 2003, along with their 2002 ranking. The University of California tops the list for the tenth consecutive year.

"American innovation has long set the pace for technological advancement worldwide," said Jon Dudas, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. "Academic researchers, and the inventions they patent, are integral to the progress of the science and technology that strengthen the economy, create new jobs and enhance the health and welfare of all Americans.”

This report presents a preliminary list of the U.S. universities receiving the most patents for invention (i.e., utility patents) during the 2003 calendar year. All campuses are included.

   Rank in 2003* Number of Patents in 2003* Organization*  (Rank in 2002)  (Number of Patents in 2002)

1. 439 University of California (1) (431)
2.139 California Institute of Technology (3) (110)
3. 127 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2) (135)
4. 96 University of Texas (5) (93)
5. 85 Stanford University (4) (104)
6. 84 University of Wisconsin (6**) (81)
7. 70 Johns Hopkins University (6**) (81)
8. 63 University of Michigan (12) (47)
9. 61 Columbia University (13) (45)
10. 59 Cornell University (21**) (35)
      59 University of Florida (15) (42)

*The listed patent counts are preliminary. The final listing of patent counts for U.S. universities in 2003 should be
available in late December of 2004.

** Indicates a tie in the ranking among two or more U.S. universities.

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	Did You Know?
	There is a time limit on patent protection. For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. Note: Patents in force on June 8 and patents issued thereafter on applications filed prior to June 8, 1995 automatically have a term that is the greater of the twenty year term discussed above or seventeen years from the patent grant.