School is bullish on patents

Patents are piling up at the University of South Florida.

The school ranked 12th among universities worldwide for U.S. utility patents with 95 in 2013, according to a National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association report. It's the fourth year in a row USF made the top 15 of the list, compiled from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data. The patent tally is also up from 79 in 2012.

“Innovation based on university technology continues to be a key factor in economic development,” Paul Sanberg, USF senior vice president for research and innovation, says in a release. “The expansion of technology and innovation are fundamental to the success of a university.”