Company comes in 3rd in 5-year ranking
Stine Seed Farm, Inc., has been ranked third among Iowa-based companies in terms of the number of patents filed in the past five years. The rankings, released by McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC, (MVS) a Des Moines-based law firm specializing in intellectual property, compares “Iowa-based” companies receiving the most patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For purposes of the study, companies were only eligible if the first-named inventor was an Iowa resident.
Stine Seed Farm, Inc., the parent company of Stine Seed Company, was the third-largest individual patent holder in the listing with 219 patents, ranking above Rockwell Collins, Inc., with 205 patents; University of Iowa Research Foundation with 111; and Iowa State University Research Foundation with 103 patents. Deere & Company was the single-largest patent holder with 300; and Pioneer Hi-Bred International was second-largest with 250 patents granted during the period.
The full ranking of Iowa companies is available in MVS’ March 2009 newsletter, Spotlight. In all, Stine Seed Farm, Inc., and its affiliated companies hold more than 800 patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“At Stine, we hold research and innovation to the highest level of importance,” says David Thompson, National Sales and Marketing Director for Stine. “To be recognized as a leader – above some of the country’s best institutions and technology companies – is a great testament to the strength of Stine’s research and our focus on the development of world-class intellectual property.”
About McKee, Voorhees & Sease
Since 1924, the Des Moines-based law firm McKee, Voorhees & Sease, has served clients to address their intellectual property needs. Clients include large corporations, small businesses, universities and individuals across the U.S. and around the world.