Landing a spot in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's list, Top 10 Universities Receiving Most Patents in 2003, did not surprise technology-transfer specialists at Cornell Research Foundation (CRF), the unit that manages intellectual property for the university.

"This is just one measure of a successful technology-transfer program, and all our indicators are on the increase. We're on track to do even better in 2004," says Richard S. Cahoon, senior vice president at CRF and acting director of the university's Office of Patents and Technology Marketing.

With 59 patents counted by the federal office in its preliminary assessment for 2003, Cornell shared the No. 10 ranking with the University of Florida. (In fact, 11th hour patents issued to Cornell on Dec. 30, 2003, brought the university's total to 63 for the year.) The only other New York state university on the 2003 list -- and the only other Ivy League school -- is Columbia, with 61 patents and a ninth-place finish.

No. 1 on the list with 439 patents in 2003 is the University of California, the public system with nine campuses, 201,000 students and 160,000 faculty and staff members. By comparison, Cornell has three main campuses (in Ithaca, New York City and Doha, Qatar), 20,225 students and 11,835 faculty and staff members.

"If you consider the ratio of patents to employees, we're more than twice as productive as the University of California," Cahoon observes. "And we should do even better in the future. So far this year, we're averaging more than one new invention disclosure each business day, and we expect to set an all-time high for the number of new inventions submitted to our office."

Cahoon also notes that not every invention disclosure results in a patent application and that months or years can elapse between a patent application and issuance of a patent. "Of course not every patent application ultimately is successful," Cahoon says, "but Cornell's ranking among the major research institutions in the country is reflective of our thriving technology-transfer program. It is a testament to the ingenuity and enterprise of our research faculty and staff, as well as to the diligent work of the foundation staff and the patent attorneys who represent us in Washington."

Commenting on the 2003 top-10 list, Jon Dudas, acting undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property, in the U.S. Department of Commerce, says, "Academic researchers, and the inventions they patent, are integral to the progress of science and technology that strengthen the economy, create new jobs and enhance the health and welfare of all Americans."

A sampling of the 63 patents issued to Cornell in 2003 reveals that titles don't always tell the whole story. For example:

o U.S. Patent No. 6,503,538, "Elastomeric Functional Biodegradable Copolyester Amides and Copolyester Urethane," is not for throwaway clothing, but rather for a critical medical application. The elastomeric coating for stents in blood vessels dispenses drugs to reduce reblockage after angioplasty and stent surgery. Invented by Cornell's C.C. Chu and his collaborators in the College of Human Ecology, the technology is licensed to San Diego-based MediVas LLC.

o U.S. Patent 6,511,699, "Phosphateases with Improved Phytase Activity," can help pigs absorb phosphorus, the nutritional element, from their feed and reduce phosphorus pollution in the waste stream. The technology nearly sparked an international trade incident in 2002, when a dismissed researcher from the Department of Animal Science tried to smuggle phytase enzymes to China by hiding leaky containers in his wife's and 4-year-old daughter's baggage. He was caught at the Syracuse, N.Y., airport, six months before the patent was issued.

o U.S. Patent 6,653,265 "Removable Marking System," won't help students improve their grade point averages -- unless they work for associate professor of horticulture Frank Rossi. That turfgrass expert invented a substance to paint regulation markings on athletic fields for different sports -- baseball and soccer, for example. Almost magically, ground markings for one sport can be made to disappear while and be replaced by markings for the next scheduled game. Notably, the technology has been licensed to the Remarkable Paint Co.

Details on more than 360 Cornell-patented technologies available for licensing can be found at the Web site: http://www.crf.cornell.edu/ .