NC Innovation
UNC System Patent Intelligence · Draft v2
NC InnovationCross-University IP Intelligence
A consolidated view of patent portfolios across the four UNC System universities served by NC Innovation, with auto-generated market reports for every technology.
4
Universities
2,847
Total Patents
12
Shared Research Themes
38
Multi-Univ Companies
The NC Innovation Network
Portfolio composition for each university we track.
UNC Chapel Hill
1,124total
NC State
956total
ECU
287total
UNC Charlotte
480total
Patent Issuance Velocity by University
Annual issued-patent counts per university. We chart issuances rather than filings because applications take 1-2 years to publish and grant — issuances are the most reliable recent signal.
- Granted patents per year, back to 2017
- Side-by-side comparison across all four universities
- Avoids the 18-month publication delay built into filing data
Issuance Velocity by University
Issued patents per year- UNC-CH
- NC State
- ECU
- UNCC
Shared Research Themes
6 themes · 2+ orgsBiotechnology & Therapeutics
Materials Science
Medical Devices
Energy & Sustainability
Computing & AI
Agriculture & Food
Where the UNC System Converges
Patents are grouped by their primary CPC classification, then mapped to high-level technology themes. Bars show how each university contributes to themes shared by two or more institutions.
Where Multiple Universities Are Inventing in Parallel
Recent USPTO filings scanned by shared theme. When two or more campuses file independently in the same area, it's a prompt to convene a joint program before efforts duplicate.
mRNA & Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery
A61K 9/00
Three campuses filing independently in delivery chemistry — prime convening opportunity.
Solid-State Battery Materials
H01M 10/00
Energy storage filings concentrated at NC State + UNCC; complementary electrode vs. electrolyte focus.
Wearable Biosensors
A61B 5/00
Sensor hardware (NCSU/UNCC) pairing with clinical validation (UNC-CH).
Precision Agriculture & Crop Genetics
A01H 6/00
Genetics (NCSU) and coastal/environmental application (ECU) filings converging.
Who Is Citing NC University Patents
Companies pulled from forward-citation data — bubble size shows total citation volume. Expand the cross-licensing briefs to see firms already citing two or more campuses.
Companies Citing NC University Patents
Top 10Bubble size = total citation volume · Purple = company citing 2+ universities · Color shade reflects citation rank.
Spot Inventions Before the Tech Transfer Office Does
Fast-rising scholarly work from network inventors that has no matching patent application yet — the earliest possible disclosure signal for the aggregator to act on.
Engineered AAV capsids for targeted CNS gene delivery
R. Patel et al. · Published 2026-02-10
Citation velocity 4× the field median with no linked filing — classic disclosure gap.
citations / yr
Self-healing polymer composites for structural repair
M. Alvarez et al. · Published 2026-03-04
Rapidly cited materials work overlapping a commercially active CPC area.
citations / yr
Low-power edge inference for implantable sensors
D. Nguyen et al. · Published 2026-01-19
Accelerating computing/medical-device crossover; no profile match in portfolio.
citations / yr
Estuarine microbiome biomarkers for water quality
S. Coleman et al. · Published 2026-04-01
Emerging environmental-diagnostics signal unique to ECU's coastal research.
citations / yr
Which Law Firms Do the Most Work — by Technology?
Outside-counsel relationships pulled from real USPTO correspondence records, grouped by each patent's CPC technology class. Pick a technology to see which firms lead that area across the four UNC System universities — e.g. who does the most battery (Energy Storage) work.
- Live data — grouped by each patent's CPC technology class
- Switch technologies to compare firm specialization
- Identifies firms shared across multiple universities
Top Law Firms by Technology
64 firms · 457 patents in Pharmaceuticals & Therapeutics
MYERS BIGEL, P.A.
ALSTON & BIRD LLP
Jenkins, Taylor & Hunt, P.A.
KDW Firm PLLC (JW-LL)
Stanek Lemon Crouse and Meeks, PA
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
Casimir Jones, S.C.
Maynard Nexsen PC (CHARLOTTE OFFICE)
Funding That Rewards the Full UNC System
Federal programs that explicitly favor multi-institution applications, matched to patents from two or more campuses by the cross-university Funding Scout.
Joint Funding Opportunities
NIH
Biotechnology & Therapeutics
NSF
Materials Science
DOE
Energy & Sustainability
DARPA
Computing & AI
What Our Market Reports Actually Look Like
Two exhibits from a real PatentDash report generated for a UNC Charlotte patent (US 10,079,039 — Multi-Modal Collaborative Web-Based Video Annotation System). Every figure is tied to a published source listed in the report appendix.
Exhibit 3 · Market Sizing Cascade
From total market to realistic capture — staged filters
Each step strips out buyers we can't reach, address, or close in the relevant time horizon.
What each stage covers
Video Collaboration & Annotation Software (Global)
Vendors with timeline + multi-user comment UX
Top 60 vendors with infringement-readable products
5-yr realistic licensing royalty pool
First-wave settlements + paid licenses
What gets filtered out at each step
EdTech, L&D, sports, medical, creator tools
Frame.io, Loom, Vidyard, Hudl, Coursera, Panopto…
Assumed 1-3% blended royalty, 35% win-rate
3-5 lead negotiations, mostly upfront fees
Exhibit 4 · Where the SAM Lives
5 buyer segments identified
Segments ranked by addressable revenue for this technology.
EdTech & Online Learning
Coursera, edX, Panopto, Echo360 — heaviest UX overlap.
$1.1B
SAM Share
Corporate L&D / Async Video
Loom, Vidyard, Bigtincan — core comment-on-video flows.
$0.9B
SAM Share
Sports & Coaching
Hudl, Veo, Catapult — segment-marking is central feature.
$0.5B
SAM Share
Medical / Surgical Training
C-SATS, Theator — high willingness-to-pay, regulated buyers.
$0.3B
SAM Share
Creator / Post-Production
Frame.io, Wipster — segment-comment UX broadly deployed.
$0.3B
SAM Share
Source-Backed Analysis
Full reports include 8-12 exhibits — executive summary, market sizing, segments, competitive landscape, geo-evidence, licensing paths, next steps, and sources.
Pipelines & Go-to-Market for Every Technology
For each promising patent across the UNC System, PatentDash auto-generates a consultant-grade market report — complete with adoption pipelines, named buyers, and a tailored go-to-market plan.
TAM / SAM / SOM
Adoption Pipeline
Go-to-Market Strategy
Named Buyer Lists
Pricing & Deal Models
Competitive Landscape
Targeted CAR-T Cell Therapy
TAM
$18.4B
Commercialization Pipeline
Go-to-Market Strategy
- License to Big Pharma oncology divisions (J&J, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck)
- Spin-out with Series A from RTP-area life-science VCs
- Co-development with FDA-fast-tracked rare-disease partners
Top Citing Buyers
High-Performance Composite Polymers
TAM
$6.2B
Commercialization Pipeline
Go-to-Market Strategy
- Materials licensing to aerospace & EV battery manufacturers
- Joint development with Tier-1 automotive suppliers
- DOE / DOD applied-research grant pipeline
Top Citing Buyers
Edge-AI Sensor Fusion Platform
TAM
$11.7B
Commercialization Pipeline
Go-to-Market Strategy
- SaaS licensing model to industrial IoT integrators
- Defense & smart-city pilot programs
- Acquisition target for hyperscaler edge platforms
Top Citing Buyers