University of South Carolina ranks among top worldwide universities granted U.S. utility patents in 2019
June 8, 2020
For the eighth-consecutive year, the University of South Carolina stands among the top 100 universities in the world, based on the number of U.S. utility patents faculty members received in 2019. South Carolina ranks 90th worldwide, named as the lead on 31 patents last year.
This places South Carolina on par with or ahead of some peer and peer-aspirant universities like Texas A&M and Penn State (tied at 65) and the University of Connecticut and Washington State (tied at 98).
Published by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), South Carolina has made the list every year since its inception in 2012 (published in 2013). The rankings are compiled by calculating the number of utility patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that list a university as the first assignee on the issued patent. The annual report highlights the important role patents play in university research and innovation.
“Our faculty’s ability to create new technologies and innovate year after year is one of our great strengths as a university,” said Bill Kirkland, executive director of the Office for Innovation, Partnership and Economic Engagement. “Their continued contributions to scientific discovery ultimately improve the quality of life not just our state, but all over the world.”
The University of South Carolina, South Carolina’s premier Carnegie tier-one institution of “very high research activity,” remains the only Palmetto State university to appear on the 2019 list.
