Four of the the top ten universities receiving U.S. utility patents are foreign and seven of the top 20.
The number one U.S. patent recipient among universities is King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia with 631 grants in 2024. Number two, the Regents of the University of California, which includes, UC Berkeley and UCLA, comes in at 540, 21% lower.
Of the top 21 grantees, 38% are non-U.S. – three are Korean, two are Chinese, and three are in Saudi Arabia.
About half of the universities ranked from 51 to 100 (24) are based outside of the U.S.
The International Trend
Without the historic data in front of me it’s difficult to certify the trend, but it is pretty clear that foreign nations, and their universities, have a clear interest in U.S. patents. This is despite difficulty enforcing U.S. patents over the past decade.
The trend is significant. U.S. patent grants were not expected from Mid-Eastern or Chinese universities ten or twenty years ago. It is in keeping with rise in global U.S. utility patent grants, which have increased from 47% in 2002 to 54% in 2022. Japanese, Korean and European U.S. filers have been joined by others.
Despite the weakening of many U.S. technology patents through legislation and case law, and difficult licensing and winning cases, the global appeal of U.S. patents and markets continue to grow.
U.S. Universities Filing Abroad?
It would be interesting to identify in which nations U.S. universities (and businesses) are filing more patents, surely an indication of belief in those systems and the potential for return in foreign markets.
Go here for the full list, “The 100 Universities Worldwide Granted U.S. Utilities Patents”.
Published annually by National Academy of Inventors (NAI) since 2013, the Top 100 Worldwide Universities list ranks the top 100 universities granted utility patents during the calendar year.
Of the top 21 grantees, 38% are non-U.S. – three are Korean, two are Chinese, and three are in Saudi Arabia
“The Top 100 Worldwide Universities list highlights the vital role patents play in translating university research and innovation, as well as the important role academic institutions play in the innovation ecosystem,” stated the researchers.
The research was conducted by NAI, a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and government and non-profit research institutes with over 4,600 inventor members and fellows from from more than 260 institutions.
Image source: NAI
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