University researchers play a central role in patents and the innovation ecosystem. RSA cryptography, CAPTCHA, mRNA vaccines, Gatorade, the computer mouse, and e-ink displays all originated in university labs, along with countless other technologies that shape modern life.
Universities are also major participants in the patent system, both in the United States and globally. The University of California alone received 571 U.S. utility patents in 2025, more than a quarter of the number granted to Google that year and roughly 100 more than Meta.
Yet despite universities’ significant presence in the patent system, many individual researchers—the inventors themselves—often experience the process as a black box.
