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
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Last modified 14 May 2002