Patent

Research & Scholarship

A legal right granted by a government giving an inventor exclusive control over an invention for a limited period in exchange for public disclosure.

In higher education, patents are an important measure of research impact and innovation. Universities encourage filings, which feed into rankings, and may commercialise them through licensing or startups via offices such as IC&SR.

Related Terms
Research
Systematic investigation undertaken to discover new knowledge, develop understanding or solve problems, spanning fundamental and applied work.
Publication
The dissemination of original research findings through peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, books or book chapters.
Citation Index
A database that measures how often research outputs are cited, such as Scopus or Web of Science.
h-index
A metric of a researcher's productivity and citation impact, balancing number of publications with how often they are cited.
Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR)
An institutional function, common at technology and research universities, that manages engagement with industry and external funding agencies, overseeing sponsored research and consultancy.