Patenting new discoveries is a crucial step in the real-world application of academic research. Patents give McGill-affiliated companies the exclusive right to bring fresh ideas to the open market, an invaluable contribution to Canada’s economic and technological growth. According to the Association of University Technology Managers’ most recent U.S. Licensing Survey (for the fiscal year 2004), McGill researchers received a whopping 30 U.S. patents, a dozen more than the nearest competitor. Not only does McGill lead the nation, it holds 20% of the U.S. patents issued to all Canadian universities participating in the survey that year.
This success has not gone unnoticed. Citing McGill’s average of 28 U.S. patents issued per year (for the years 2000-2004), the Milken Institute recently ranked McGill 14th in the world for translating its biotech research into patents. The independent economic think-tank’s report placed McGill ahead of all other Canadian universities, as well as Yale and UCLA.