Schenectady County Ranks 2nd in US for Patenting Intensity
Living up to its claim as being the “birthplace of innovation,” Schenectady County ranks second in the nation for utility patenting intensity over the past two decades. And throughout the Capital Region, inventors are especially productive when it comes to generating patents for semiconductor and environmental technologies , according to a Center for Economic Growth analysis of new data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
Patenting Intensity
Between 2000 and 2020, 1,788 utility patents were assigned to owners who lived in Schenectady County, which is home to GE Research’s campus in Niskayuna. On a per capita basis, that meant there were 11.5 patents awarded for every 1,000 people living in the county. Among 3,143 counties nationwide, only Santa Clara County in California had a higher patenting intensity at 12.0 per 1,000.
Albany County was the only other county in the Capital Region to rank among the top 100 counties for utility patenting intensity. With 241 patents awarded to county owners during the 20-year period, or 0.79 per 1,000 people, Albany County ranked 85th for patenting intensity. And among 50 Northeast metropolitan statistical areas (MSA), the Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA ranked first for patenting intensity, with 2,112 utility patents assigned to owners in the five-county area, or 2.4 per 1,000 people. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA came in second with a patenting intensity of 1.5 per 1,000.
Technologies
Only a fraction of the patents worked on by inventors in the Capital Region were assigned to owners located within its boundaries. In fact, between 2000 and 2020, Capital Region inventors were named on 5,795 semiconductor utility patents, 284 environmental technology utility patents, and 175 biotechnology utility patents. In the Capital Region, major drivers of innovation across these technology fields include the 1.3 million square-foot Albany NanoTech Complex, GlobalFoundries in Malta, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, and GE Research in Niskayuna.
With semiconductors, Albany County inventors were named on ninth most number of patents (2,301). Schenectady County ranked 13th (1,634) and Saratoga County 16th (1,396). Among states and excluding the rest of New York, only CA, ID & TX had more semiconductor utility patents naming local inventors than the Capital Region during the 20-year period.
With environmental technology, such as wind turbines, Schenectady County ranked 34th (111) and Saratoga County ranked 36th (110). With biotechnology, Albany County ranked 132nd (61).
CEG INITIATIVES
CEG has a decades-long tradition of supporting the Capital Region’s tech industries. CEG consistently represents the Capital Region at semiconductor industry events worldwide. CEG is also serving as a group sponsor several high tech apprenticeship programs, maintenance technicians at GlobalFoundries and software developers. CEG also promotes the region’s high tech industries, including R&D to Commercialization and Advanced Electronics at conferences and other events worldwide, such as Semicon West. that highlight the strength and size of the advanced electronics R&D and manufacturing sector.
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