Twenty-three researchers at Canadian telecommunicationcompany Nortel's Galway innovation centre were recognised yesterday for 61 patents filed for or awarded to Nortel as a result of their work.

The inventors also receive a plaque from the US Patent Office when a patent is awarded.

"If you are a scientist, this is like winning the Super Bowl - or the World Cup," said Scott Wickware, Nortel's vice-president of strategy and operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who was in Galway for the ceremony.

Wickware said that in terms of winning patents, Galway has consistently outperformed many other Nortel facilities worldwide.

"Galway has a disproportionately high number of patents. We have much larger facilities than Galway and its 300 employees, so this is really an incredible level of achievement," he said.

Half of those employees work directly on research and development projects.

He added that such productivity was part of the reason Nortel had recently made a commitment to extend its commitment to its Galway facility for a further 20 years.

The certificates are awarded to individuals who alone or as part of a team, receive a patent or file for a patent for work done at the facility. The patent filing and award process can take up to three years.

The patented work may be used by Nortel in a product or service, may generate royalties, or may be sold to other companies, said Wickware.

Most patents come out of R&D work on a specific product, he said.