Revolution. Upheaval. Metamorphosis.
These synonyms for “innovation” are an important reminder of the potential for a new method, idea or product to play a transformative role in our society.
While it’s tough to set an objective measurement for innovation and its potential impact, researchers consider patents a key indicator. By fostering the pursuit of intellectual property rights and encouraging commercialization, innovation drives business success and spurs the economy.
If patents are a critical metric, the Florida High Tech Corridor’s three research universities are setting the bar high. This year, the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF) earned 218 patents, more than any other globally recognized centers of innovation – including the three universities of North Carolina’s Research Triangle and eight universities of the University of Texas System.
The results were released this June in the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents in 2018 report published by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in partnership with the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Published annually since 2013, the report details patents issued to university inventors in the previous calendar year and recognizes the importance of patenting, licensing and commercialization in university research.
The NAI was created in 2010 in offices at the University of South Florida to recognize and encourage inventors pursuing intellectual property rights. Today, it celebrates more than 4,000 members and Fellows from more than 250 institutions who have been issued a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent success is a testament to the creative thinking and innovative spirit embodied by UCF, USF and UF and their partners, highlighting The Corridor region’s sustained growth as a high tech hub through continued innovation and technology transfer from universities to the marketplace.