Purdue ranks 17th among worldwide universities granted U.S. utility patents, marking fourth straight year in top 20

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University is ranked 17th in the world among universities granted U.S. utility patents, marking the fourth straight year the university is in the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association’s list of top 20.

Purdue is among only 13 U.S. universities to be rated in the top 20 in each of the past four years. Purdue Research Foundation, which protects Purdue’s intellectual property and promotes entrepreneurial activities, reports that Purdue was ranked No. 16 in 2014 with 93 patents, No. 15 in 2015 with 101 patents, No. 12 in 2016 with 105 patents and No. 17 in 2017 with 100. The rankings are based on data obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“Being ranked in the top 20 for four straight years and being granted at least 100 patents for three straight years show that we are consistently meeting the goal Purdue President Mitch Daniels set to make Purdue ‘Entrepreneur U,’” said Brooke Beier, executive director of the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. “The rankings show that Purdue is advancing commercialization and entrepreneurship while improving people’s lives and strengthening economic development across Indiana and the nation.”

The patents issued to Purdue represent innovations from nearly all of the university's core research areas, including engineering, agriculture, science, computer science, technology, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, health sciences, information technology and veterinary medicine. 

Since 2013, Purdue has started a number of initiatives and programs to help entrepreneurs who create startups, including the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator in Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Purdue’s Discovery Park. The Foundry provides practical guidance and programs for startups, including business development, venture capital experts, entrepreneurs-in-residence and entrepreneurial professionals. 

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. 

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Tom Coyne, 765-588-1044, tjcoyne@prf.org

Source:  Brooke Beier, 765-588-3464, blbeier@prf.org