U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Information Products Division
Technology Assessment and Forecast (TAF) Branch
U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES-
UTILITY PATENT GRANTS,
CALENDAR YEARS 1969-2000
- this report has been prepared with support from the National Science Foundation -
TECHNOLOGIES EMPHASIZED IN UTILITY PATENTS ASSIGNED TO
ALL U.S. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES,
UTILITY PATENT GRANTS, 1990 AND 2000
Explanation of Data --
This table, prepared from the Technology Assessment and Forecast (TAF) database,
identifies the classes of technology that received relatively greater and lesser
emphasis in issuing utility patents (i.e., "patents for inventions") that were
assigned to U.S. colleges and universities. Patent assignee (ownership) information
is determined by the first-named assignee (owner) listed on the issuing patent.
This table includes data for patents granted in two calendar years,
1990 and 2000. Although patents can be classified into multiple classes of
technology, only the class that was associated with each utility patent's PRIMARY
classification as of 31 December 2000, is represented in the table (see the
"Classes of Technology" discussion, below).
The displayed university "activity index" indicates which classes of technology
received greater and lesser patenting emphasis in utility patents assigned to U.S. colleges and universities.
Classes are listed in order of decreasing "activity index" values for the year 2000. Under
this arrangement, classes of technology that were emphasized more heavily in 2000 are
listed higher in the table. If two or more classes have identical "activity index" values
for 2000, the classes are listed in ascending class number order.
The "activity index" for a particular year and class is calculated by first determining the proportion
of "total U.S. university patents" that are in that class for the year, then dividing that amount by the
"total U.S. university patents" that are in all classes for that year. An "activity index" equal to 1.000
indicates that the proportion of U.S. university patents in that class of technology is the same as the
proportion of U.S. university patents that are in all classes combined. An "activity index" value greater than 1.000
for a class indicates that a relatively higher proportion of U.S. college and university patents are
in that class, compared to the proportion of U.S. college and university patents that are
in all classes combined.
(**) Please note that full information necessary for calculating
the individual "activity index" values is presented in each
table.
Example:
For utility patents that were granted in 2000, the
"activity index" for Class 216, "Etching a Substrate: Processes",
is calculated as follows:
Referring to the "activity index" table--
In 2000 and in class 216, there were 214 patents
granted (see data column 4 for class 216) of which 14 were
U.S. university patents (see data column 6 for class 216).
In 2000 and in all classes of technology, there were 157,495
patents granted (last row of table data, column 4)
of which 3,087 were U.S. university patents (last row of
table data, column 6).
The U.S. university patent share of total utility patents issuing
in Class 216 in 2000 is:
( 14 / 214 ), or 6.542 percent.
The U.S. university share of total utility patents issuing in
all utility patent classes in 2000 is:
( 3,087 / 157,495 ), or 1.960 percent.
The U.S. university "activity index" for Class 216, "Etching
a Substrate: Processes", in 2000 is:
( ( 14 / 214 ) / ( 3,087 / 157,495 ) ) = (6.542 / 1.960) = 3.338.
Note: Displayed patent counts refer to counts of "utility" patents.
Classes of Technology
The class breakouts available in this table are major divisions of technology
in the U.S. Patent Classification System (USPCS). It should be noted that each class is
further divided into smaller divisions of technology called subclasses. The USPCS currently
contains approximately 460 total classes and 150,000 total subclasses. Technology classes
available in these reports are classes of technology as defined by the U.S. Patent
Classification System as it existed on 31 December, 2000.
Copies of each patent are placed (classified) in those subclasses that have been identified
as pertinent to the information disclosed in the patent. One, and only one, of these
subclasses is designated as the PRIMARY classification, and the remainder (if any)
are designated as CROSS-REFERENCE classifications. Counting patents by PRIMARY
classification, as has been done for this table, will ensure that each patent is
counted only once. However, if a patent teaches more than one concept, e.g., table
and chair, only one concept, e.g., table, will be counted . Please note that
a patent's PRIMARY classification is also referred to as its ORIGINAL classification
in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office specific terminology.
For this table, some classes have been combined together under a single class
identifier. In such cases, combined classes are noted in the accompanying class titles.
In addition, selected class titles have been modified to clarify technological content.
Patent classification is based on each patent's PRIMARY classification as of 31 December, 2000.
If the record for a patent is
incomplete and contains no PRIMARY classification, then the patent is counted
in class 001, titled CLASSIFICATION UNDETERMINED. For a more detailed description of
the technologies encompassed by a U.S. Patent Classification System class of technology,
the Manual of U.S. Patent Classification and the U.S. Patent Classification System
Classification Definitions should be consulted.
Analyzing the Data
Use of spreadsheet software may facilitate analysis of the data contained in this
table. Users should note that many spreadsheet software programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel)
can import this table directly. Check the spreadsheet software documentation for details.
Printing the Report
Some web browsers permit acceptable printing of this report table directly from the web page.
Importing the web page into spreadsheet or word-processing software may allow a
user additional flexibility for formatting the table for printing.Check the corresponding
software documentation for details.
TAF Contacts
Questions regarding these reports should be directed to:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Information Products Division - TAF Branch
PK3- Suite 441
Washington, DC 20231
tel: (703) 306-2600
FAX: (703) 306-2737
email oeip@uspto.gov
address of TAF Internet pages : http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/tafp.html
ftp download of TAF reports from : ftp.uspto.gov/pub/taf/
Last modified 14 May 2002