Where does University of North Carolina rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), University of North Carolina ranks #33,742 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does University of North Carolina hold?

University of North Carolina holds 8 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2021, spanning 14 technology areas.

What is University of North Carolina's Innovation Score?

University of North Carolina has an Innovation Score of 28.3 out of 100 (27th percentile of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

Is University of North Carolina's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

University of North Carolina's recent grant velocity is -40% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for University of North Carolina's patents?

University of North Carolina's patents average 12.5 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

How is the University of North Carolina patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

University of North Carolina

Q: What technology areas does University of North Carolina focus on?

University of North Carolina's top technology area is C12N (Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media) with 3 patents, ranking #2,438 of 4,144 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 14 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 8 granted patents across 14 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2021. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: C12N (Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, University ranks #33,742 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 8 patents across 14 technology areas.

#33,742
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: 27th percentile
by Innovation Score (28.3/100): 12.5
avg claims per patent: -40%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R33742 · US Corporation #33,742 · 8 grants

GRANTS-MICRO · MID-PACK · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-THIN · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-DOWN · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MICRO 8 grants
MID-PACK #33,742/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Universitaet Rostock
CPC-FOCUS C12N · 14 areas
INNOV-THIN 28.3/100
CLAIMS-RICH 12.5 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DOWN -40% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Universitaet Rostock (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How University’s 28.3 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 7.6 pts (27%) Velocity 0.0 pts (0%) Breadth 13.2 pts (47%) Claim depth 7.5 pts (27%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
University of North… · this assignee

28
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows University's Innovation Score is 28.3/100 (27th percentile of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for University?

Each dot is one of University’s 8 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). University’s own 12.5 claims/patent is at or below the 12.9 median for these volume peers. Volume here does not track with deeper claims; several lower-volume peers claim more thoroughly per patent.

University vs its 8 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

Where University's grants concentrate

University of North Carolina is a focused PatentsView assignee: 14 CPC subclasses with 37.5% of grants classified under C12N (Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media). Peak complete grant year is 2015 (2 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2019. By volume, University sits between Universitaet Rostock and University of the Ryukyus.

Universitaet Rost…

8
University Of The…

8
University of Ken…

8
University of Mar…

8
University of Ply…

8
University of Tar…

8
University of Tok…

8
University of the…

8
University of Nor… ◀

8

What this shows University holds 8 patents at rank #33,745, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near University

By rank, the assignees closest to #33,745 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C12N (Microorganisms OR Enzymes)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in University's primary technology class.

University's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

28 27th percentile higher than 27% of 49,997 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2021

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

University of North Carolina patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	2	25.0%
2016	2	25.0%
2019	1	12.5%
2020	1	12.5%
2021	2	25.0%

Which technologies does University of North Carolina patent most?

C12N - Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media 3

A61K - Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes 3

C07D - Heterocyclic Compounds 2

C07C - Acyclic OR Carbocyclic Compounds 2

G01R - Measuring Electric VARIABLES; Measuring Magnetic Variables 2

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 2

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 2

G06T - Image Data Processing OR Generation, IN General 2

G16H - Healthcare Informatics, i.e. Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR THE Handling OR Processing OF Medical OR Healthcare Data 2

C12Y - Enzymes 2

A61P - Specific Therapeutic Activity OF Chemical Compounds OR Medicinal Preparations 2

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 2

Y02A - Technologies FOR Adaptation TO Climate Change 1

B01L - Chemical OR Physical Laboratory Apparatus FOR General USE 1

Top 14 of 14 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

University of North Carolina's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

University of North Carolina's lead technology class is C12N (Microorganisms OR ENZYMES; Compositions THEREOF; Propagating, Preserving, OR Maintaining MICROORGANISMS; Mutation OR Genetic ENGINEERING; Culture Media), 37.5% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore C12N
Ranked #33,742 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare University of North Carolina against Universitaet Rostock, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 28.3/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled by PlainPatent , US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.