For the second straight year, New York State inventors set a record for patents in 2001, according to the state Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR).
The achievement "is is a solid indication of the amazing vitality of the state's inventors and innovators," said Russell W. Bessette, NYSTAR's executive director. "The continued push to experiment and advance technology will result in the creation of new companies, new processes and new jobs in New York State."
Last year, 8,633 utility, design and plant patents were issued to inventors in New York, up 3.2 percent from the previous record of 8,362 patents issued in 2000, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Since 1995 the number of utility, design and plant patents issued to New York inventors has increased 43 percent.
The awarding of patents encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide, NYSTAR said in a release. A direct result of these patent awards will be new products and new employment opportunities for thousands of New Yorkers.
NYSTAR said leaders in patent achievements in New York State's private sector include: AT&T Corp.; General Electric Co.; Corning Incorporated.; Eastman Kodak Co.; IBM; and Xerox Corp. University-based innovators earned 275 patents in 2001, NYSTAR added.
There are other indicators of New York's continuing strength in technology, NYSTAR said, noting that:
- New York ranked No. 1 in the number of high school students named as finalists in the Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition for the third straight year.
- The national consulting firm of Deloitte & Touche recently said New York ranks second in the nation in the number of fastest growing technology companies in North America, the state's strongest ranking in five years.