Patentest community

Government Agencies do not patent heavily, as they account for approximately 1% of all utility patenting per year. Many government agency patenting efforts are more for defensive purposes. However, governments contribute significantly to patenting innovations through funding and grants to both private and public sectors.

Tammy D'Amato of Patent Board has released rankings for the top 10 government agencies having the greatest "technology strength" in their patent portfolios. The rankings, and the 2009 patent grant rate, follow:

(1) Electronics & Telecommincations Research Institute (KR) (286 patents)
(2) United States Navy (236 patents)
(3) United States Department of Energy (194 patents)
(4) United States Army (137 patents)
(5) NASA (85 patents)
(6) Japan MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology) (190 patents)
(7) US Dept. of Health and Human Services (123 patents)
(8) Agency for Science Technology and Research (Singapore) (39 patents)
(9) Japan METI (Ministry of Economic Trade & Industry) (82 patents)
(10) CNRS (Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique) (France) (96 patents)

Read BusinessWeek.com "U.S. Slips to Second in Patents"