The University of Pittsburgh has once again moved up the list of the top recipients of U.S. utility patents among worldwide universities in 2021, according to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO).
Published annually since 2013, the report ranks the top 100 global universities named as the first assignee on utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Pitt ranked #18 for the 2021 calendar year with 104 patents. In the previous year, the university ranked #20, and ranked #28 the year before that. The full report can be found here.
“Pitt innovators are eager not only to make discoveries, but also to make their discoveries count in the lives of people,” said Evan Facher, vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and associate dean for commercial translation in the School of Medicine. The Innovation Institute, part the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, manages intellectual property and licensing and supports faculty and student innovators with the education, funding and resources they need to be successful on their innovation commercialization journeys.
In the most recent five-year period (2018-2022), issued patents to Pitt inventors increased 35 percent over the previous five fiscal years (2013-2017). Startups based on Pitt discoveries have increased 54 percent in the same period, reflecting the expanded funding, mentoring, and educational resources available through the university’s growing innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
“Innovation based on university technology continues to be a key factor in economic development,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the NAI. “The NAI is pleased to be releasing this list of the top innovation universities in the world in conjunction with the IPO for the tenth year in a row.”
There are 57 Member Institutions of the NAI represented this year in the Top 100. They hold an aggregate total of 4,663 patents spanning a wide variety of fields, such as medicine, technology, and engineering.