UM, ranked second among French universities in the latest INPI rankings
The University of Montpellier ranks second among French universities in the latest list of public and private patent applicants published by the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI). It is ranked 35th, with 38 patent applications filed in 2017.
UM ranks ahead of Bordeaux and the Sorbonne
Since 2004, the Intellectual Property Observatory has published an annual ranking of patent applicants to the INPI based on the number of published patent applications. For the 2017 results, the applications considered are those filed between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016 (it takes 18 months from the filing of a patent application to its publication).
With 38 published applications in 2017, UM ranks as the second-highest French university in the ranking after Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University. Ranked 35th (up from 74th in 2016), it outranks the University of Bordeaux (42nd) and Sorbonne University (45th).
Unsurprisingly, the top 50 patent filers include the major French industrial groups that invest in research, as well as thirteen research organizations and nine foreign companies. The Valeo Group remains in first place with 1,110 published patent applications (994 published in 2016). The PSA Group ranks second, rising from 930 published applications in 2016 to 1,021 published applications in 2017. Third place is held by Safran with 795 published applications (758 published in 2016). The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) retains fourth place with the same number of published applications as in 2016: 684 published applications.
SATT: A Key Role in Commercializing UM Projects
As a key partner of UM, the regional technology transfer acceleration company (SATT Ax-Lr) plays a pivotal role in the university’s strong performance in this ranking. Indeed, it is SATT that identifies promising technologies among those proposed by UM, funds them, and supports them through the process of filing patent applications with the INPI.
“This result is therefore the fruit of a synergy between the excellence of UM research and the added value provided by SATT AxLR in terms of technology protection and maturation,”explains François Pierrot, the University’s Vice President for Commercialization and Industrial Partnerships.
“Given that the SATT matures a project for an average of 18 months and that the publication of a patent also takes 18 months from the date of filing, we can consider that we are now reaping the rewards of the work carried out with the SATT over the past few years,”concludes the vice president.