Top 100 patent holders, U.S. and non-U.S. entities (including subsidiaries)
| Rank |
U.S. and non-U.S. entities (including subsidiaries) |
Utility patents held |
| | Number |
| 1 |
MONSANTO CO., INC. |
674 |
| 2 |
DU PONT, E.I. DE NEMOURS AND CO. |
565 |
| 3 |
PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC. |
449 |
| 4 |
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE |
315 |
| 5 |
SYNGENTA |
284 |
| 6 |
NOVARTIS AG |
230 |
| 7 |
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA |
221 |
| 8 |
BASF AG |
217 |
| 9 |
DOW CHEMICAL CO. |
214 |
| 10 |
HOECHST JAPAN LTD. |
207 |
| 11 |
MYCOGEN PLANT SCIENCE, INC. |
196 |
| 12 |
BAYER AG |
184 |
| 13 |
ROCHE HOLDINGS |
141 |
| 14 |
ADVANTA TECHNOLOGY LTD. |
137 |
| 15 |
AJINOMOTO CO. INC. |
128 |
| 16 |
AVENTIS CROPSCIENCE |
126 |
| 17 |
AMERICAN CYANAMID CO. |
124 |
| 18 |
ZENECA LTD. |
113 |
| 19 |
DEKALB GENETICS CORP. |
112 |
| 20 |
ELI LILLY AND CO. |
110 |
| 21 |
CORNELL UNIVERSITY |
102 |
| 22 |
NOVO-NORDISK A/S |
96 |
| 23 |
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY |
94 |
| 24 |
WISCONSIN ALUMNI RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
92 |
| 25 |
ASGROW SEED CO. |
91 |
| 26 |
CALGENE L.L.C. |
91 |
| 27 |
AKZO NOBEL BV |
86 |
| 28 |
CIBA-GEIGY AG |
85 |
| 29 |
KYOWA HAKKO KOGYO CO., LTD |
84 |
| 30 |
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY |
78 |
| 31 |
IMPERIAL CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES PLC |
76 |
| 32 |
CHIRON CORP. |
75 |
| 33 |
NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS, INC. |
75 |
| 34 |
Individual inventor |
68 |
| 35 |
SAVIA |
67 |
| 36 |
APPLERA CORPORATION |
64 |
| 37 |
NESTEC, S.A. |
64 |
| 38 |
HOLDEN'S FOUNDATION FEEDS, INC. |
63 |
| 39 |
BECTON, DICKINSON AND CO. |
62 |
| 40 |
PLANT GENETIC SYSTEMS |
62 |
| 41 |
MERCK & CO., INC. |
59 |
| 42 |
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA |
57 |
| 43 |
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA |
57 |
| 44 |
INVITROGEN CORPORATION |
56 |
| 45 |
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY |
56 |
| 46 |
MASSACHUSETTS INST. OF TECHNOLOGY |
55 |
| 47 |
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE (INRA) |
53 |
| 48 |
LIFE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
53 |
| 49 |
ABBOT LABORATORIES |
52 |
| 50 |
HARVARD COLLEGE |
52 |
| 51 |
PERKIN-ELMER CORP. |
52 |
| 52 |
GENENCOR INTERNATIONAL |
51 |
| 53 |
DNA PLANT TECHNOLOGY |
50 |
| 54 |
GIST-BROCADES N.V. |
50 |
| 55 |
SANDOZ LTD. |
50 |
| 56 |
INSTITUT PASTEUR |
49 |
| 57 |
PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
49 |
| 58 |
UNILEVER PATENT HOLDINGS B.V. |
49 |
| 59 |
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
49 |
| 60 |
HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE INC. |
48 |
| 61 |
CETUS CORP. |
47 |
| 62 |
RHONE-POULENC S.A. |
47 |
| 63 |
BOEHRINGER MANNHEIM GMBH |
46 |
| 64 |
U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
46 |
| 65 |
SALK INST. FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES |
45 |
| 66 |
GENENTECH, INC. |
43 |
| 67 |
CPC INTERNATIONAL INC. |
41 |
| 68 |
PHARMACIA AB |
41 |
| 69 |
AMOCO CORP. |
40 |
| 70 |
BRITISH-AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY LIMITED |
40 |
| 71 |
GENERAL HOSPITAL CORP. |
40 |
| 72 |
PARTNERS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, INC |
40 |
| 73 |
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY |
40 |
| 74 |
MICROLIFE TECHNICS, INC. |
39 |
| 75 |
STANFORD UNIVERSITY |
39 |
| 76 |
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY |
38 |
| 77 |
STINE SEED FARM, INC. |
38 |
| 78 |
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS |
38 |
| 79 |
AMERSHAM INTERNATIONAL LTD. |
37 |
| 80 |
GLAXOSMITHKLEIN |
37 |
| 81 |
W. R. GRACE AND CO. |
36 |
| 82 |
LUBRIZOL CORP. |
34 |
| 83 |
TAKARA SHUZO CO., LTD. |
34 |
| 84 |
BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE |
33 |
| 85 |
SUMITOMO INDUSTRIES, LTD. |
33 |
| 86 |
UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN |
33 |
| 87 |
GEN-PROBE INC. |
32 |
| 88 |
JAPAN MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES |
32 |
| 89 |
PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. |
32 |
| 90 |
SUNY RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
32 |
| 91 |
COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORG. (CSIRO) |
30 |
| 92 |
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY |
30 |
| 93 |
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND |
30 |
| 94 |
HAYASHIBARA SEIBUTSU KAGAKU KENKYUJO K. K. |
29 |
| 95 |
LUBRIZOL GENETICS, INC. |
29 |
| 96 |
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO., LTD. |
29 |
| 97 |
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY |
29 |
| 98 |
SCHERING AG |
28 |
| 99 |
STRATAGENE |
28 |
| 100 |
ECOGEN INC. |
27 |
| Note: Patent assignees and subsequent determinations of locations are based on USPTO assignee data, which might be missing, incomplete, or indicate multiple assignees per patent. Multiple spellings or abbreviations have been consolidated to a single assignee identification. |