Earlier this month, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) published their annual list of the top 100 worldwide universities that received the most U.S. utility patents during the 2020 calendar year. The NAI is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with over 4,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 250 institutions. The organization was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society. The joint effort by the NAI and IPO is based on data obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For their report, the NAI and IPO defined a university as an institution that grants undergraduate-level degrees, and when a patent is assigned to one or more entities, credit was given to the first named entity. The report indicates that the number of patents granted to a particular university does not necessarily indicate the value of a university's technology, the effectiveness of its research, or whether its patents will be successfully licensed and/or brought to market. The top 25 universities on the NAI/IPO listing are as follows (click on table to expand):
The complete list of 100 universities can be found here.
For additional information regarding this and other related topics, please see:
• "IPO & Harrity Analytics Release List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2020," February 18, 2021
• "NAI & IPO Release List of Top 100 Universities Receiving Patents in 2019," June 3, 2020
• "IPO & Harrity Analytics Release List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2019," May 25, 2020
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2018," August 7, 2019
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2017," July 4, 2018
• "Top 100 Universities Worldwide Granted U.S. Patents in 2016," June 15, 2017
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2016," June 14, 2017
• "NAI & IPO Release List of Top 100 Universities Receiving Patents in 2014," July 5, 2015
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2014," July 1, 2015
• "IPO Names Top 100 Patenting Universities," July 24, 2014
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2013," July 7, 2014
• "NAI & IPO Release List of Top 100 Universities Receiving Patents in 2012," January 7, 2014
• "Brookings Paper Calls for Technology Transfer Model Based on University Start-ups," December 12, 2013
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2012," June 24, 2013
• "Another Look at IPO Top 300 and Life Sciences Top 53," June 11, 2012
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2011," June 7, 2012
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2010," June 30, 2011
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2009," May 26, 2010
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders for 2008," May 14, 2009
• "IPO Releases List of Top 300 Patent Holders," May 22, 2008
• "IPO Posts List of Top 300 Patent Holders," April 20, 2007
