JHU a world leader in U.S. patents issued to universities

Johns Hopkins University is among the top ten institutions worldwide to receive U.S. utility patents in 2016, according to a rankings report published by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. The report ranks JHU at No. 7, with the university listed as the first assignee on 167 patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last year.

Utility patents are issued by the Patent Office for products that serve a practical purpose and are not purely decorative. A patent can last for up to 20 years, and covers products including machines, processes, pharmaceuticals, and manufactured products.

JHU's intellectual property is managed by Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, which serves as the licensing, patent, and technology commercialization office for Johns Hopkins researchers and inventors. In fiscal year 2016, JHTV had 2,677 active patents and received more than 500 invention disclosures. Hopkins inventions generated $58 million in licensing revenue, and startups at Johns Hopkins received more than $430 million in follow-on funding. Last year, the university launched 22 new startups and partnered with 13 corporate sponsors to bring Johns Hopkins technology to market, including collaborations with Bayer, pharmaceutical company Celgene, and AstraZeneca's global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune.

"One of the primary goals of The Johns Hopkins University is to bring the benefits of discovery to the world," says Christy Wyskiel, head of JHTV and senior advisor to Ronald J. Daniels, president of JHU. "The extraordinary researchers, faculty members and students at Johns Hopkins take pride in translating innovation into products that provide tomorrow's solutions to today's biggest challenges."

In 2014, Johns Hopkins cracked the rankings list's top 10 for the first time when it ranked eighth with 140 granted utility patents. In 2015, Johns Hopkins again ranked eighth with 143 granted utility patents.