On June 10, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association announced the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents in 2013. The list, which is based on data obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, recognizes the important role patents play in university research.  Yonsei’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation was ranked 91^st, tied with Princeton and a handful of other global universities. 

NAI is a non-profit member organization comprised of U.S. and international universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with over 3,000 individual inventor members and fellows spanning more than 200 institutions. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society. 

IPO, which was established in 1972, is a trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.  IPO is the only association in the U.S. that serves all intellectual property (IP) owners in all industries and fields of technology. Advocating for effective and affordable IP ownership rights, IPO strives to maximize innovation across all industries, while improving lives throughout the world by fostering high-quality rights and effective, harmonized systems to obtain and enforce those rights on behalf of its members.

University officials believe that Yonsei’s appearance on the NAI-IPO list is a direct result of its initiatives to support innovative research projects—such as the Yonsei Future Leader Research Project—as well as its efforts to secure international intellectual property rights and expand technology development through its many research centers and institutes.  According to NAI President Paul R. Sanberg, the fact that Yonsei was included in this list means that it is one of “the top innovation universities in the world.” “Innovation based on university technology,” Sanberg added, “continues to be a key factor in economic development. The expansion of technology and innovation are fundamental to the success of a university.”