Patents by campus and institute in 2014
* UT Institute of Agriculture: 4 * UT Knoxville: 15 * UT Health Science Center: 12 * UT Graduate School of Medicine: 3
NASHVILLE -- The University of Tennessee ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide in terms of the number of U.S. utility patents for technology the system was granted in 2014.
That's according to a new report by the National Academy of Inventors and and the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
In their news release, UT officials said the university's Research Patent filed the patents for technology across the UT system. With 24 patents granted, that put UT at No. 91.
"The granting of patents indicates that our faculty and research staff across the system are producing quality outcomes with potential for commercialization, and as a University, we are committed to providing an atmosphere that supports innovation and encourages our researchers to seek protection of their discoveries," said David Millhorn, president of the UT Research Foundation and executive vice president and vice president of research for the UT System in a statement.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website, a utility patent is issued for the invention of a "new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement." It generally permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of up to twenty years.
Overall, the University of Tennessee had 34 patents in calendar year 2014. This report ranks the number of patents based on the first named assignee on the patent - 24. The university says there were 10 more patents in which the university was not the first assignee.