Inventiveness pays at colleges

The University of California, Caltech and Stanford ranked first, third and fourth, respectively, last year in the federal government's list of U.S. universities receiving patents. And UC -- all its campuses combined -- has held that top spot for 12 unbroken years.

UC's enormous scale, high-powered faculty and long-running management of federally funded laboratories account for some of that championship status.

But the ranking also reflects the spirit around the state, according to William Tucker, executive director of UC's systemwide Office of Technology Transfer.

"Without slighting our colleagues in the Midwest, it's a very entrepreneurial environment here that's led to the success in California," he said, adding the same could be said for the Boston area and a few other spots around the country. "There is money here. There is opportunity to invest in technologies coming out of universities. And success breeds success."

Jon Dudas, the U.S. undersecretary of Commerce for intellectual property, said California schools are among those that have found "the magical formula" in pursuing inventions and getting them into the market.

Universities such as Stanford and UC, he said, attract top professors who are prolific researchers, later producing more revenue to snag future talent in a creative cycle.

Though big corporations account for the majority of patents, universities traditionally take the longer view and can work without immediate results on projects leading to enormous breakthroughs, Dudas said.

Within the UC system, the medically oriented San Francisco campus holds the most U.S. patents: 800 by mid-2005. Noteworthy and high-earning inventions there include the hepatitis B vaccine and a form of cochlear implant to improve hearing.

UCLA was the launching pad for the nicotine patch and treatments for intracranial aneurysms. To the north, UC Davis was home to the Camarosa strawberry, a popular variety that ships and stores well.

Other campuses' significant inventions include:

* UC Irvine, a skin-cooling device that improves laser treatments.

* UC San Diego, therapy for the painful bladder disease interstitial cystitis.

* UC Berkeley, tests for E. coli contamination in public drinking water.

* UC Santa Barbara, a pump that measures and delivers insulin for diabetics.

The UC system earned $110 million last year in licensing revenue from all its patents, with the on-campus inventors usually receiving about a third of that.

That sounds like big money, but it is a small portion of UC's overall $15-billion annual operating budget, which includes its hospitals.

"It's not significant on the grand scheme, but it is important money to support our mission and take technology to the public," Tucker said.

Stanford got a $336-million windfall over the last two years after Google first offered public shares. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had developed the search engine technology as Stanford graduate students. The school took what seemed to others to be an inauspicious equity share in the obscure start-up as part of a patent licensing agreement.