By Donald Zuhn --
The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) recently presented the highlights of the AUTM Licensing Activity Survey Summary for FY2010. While the full report will be released later this fall, the academic technology transfer organization noted that "[d]espite continuing difficult economic conditions, university and research institute licensing and startup activity remained very strong" in 2010. In particular, the AUTM survey found that 651 university start-ups were created in 2010, up 9.2% from the 596 university start-ups created in 2009. The survey also found that licensing revenue rose 3.0% from 2009 to 2010, reversing a sharp decline that saw revenue drop 32.5% between 2008 and 2009. The number of licenses also increased in 2010, albeit only by 0.6%.
The AUTM survey also found that research expenditures were up 10.5% to $59.1 billion and income from licenses hit $2.4 billion (up from $2.3 billion in 2009). With regard to IP management, the survey shows that invention disclosures increased by 1.6% to 20,642; 12,281 new U.S. patent applications were filed by survey respondents (up 46.8% from the 8,364 applications filed in 2009); and 4,469 U.S. patents were issued to survey respondents (a 30.8% increase from the 3,417 patents issued to respondents in 2009). AUTM noted that the increase in patent issuances was the largest the group had seen in the 17 years that it has been collecting licensing data.
The survey was generated from 183 responses to a survey sent to 307 U.S. institutions, consisting of 236 universities and colleges, 65 hospitals and research institutions, two national laboratories, and four third-party technology investment firms. Additional information regarding the AUTM survey can be found here.
For additional information on other related topics, please see:
• "University Start-ups and Licensing Activity Held Steady During Recession," October 7, 2010
• "AUTM Survey Shows Drop in Issued Patents," March 9, 2010
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