IBM Still At Top In Patents But Asian Companies Are Gaining |
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Monday, 16 April 2007 |
 IBM received more US patents last year than any other company for the 14th consecutive year, while Asian companies dominated the rest of the list of top recipients. IBM won a record 3,651 patents in 2006, IFI Patent Intelligence, a unit of the publishing company Wolters Kluwer, said. Three Asian electronics companies followed, and Hewlett-Packard came in fifth, IFI said.
Compared with 2005, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued 21 percent more patents in 2006, at 173,772, reversing two years of declines, IFI said. In October, IBM reported third-quarter income from intellectual property and custom development of $242 million and said that it spent $1.54 billion on research. IFI said seven U.S. companies and nine Japanese organizations were among the top 20 patent recipients.
Samsung Electronics of South Korea, the biggest maker of chips, mobile phones and flat-panel screens in Asia, ranked second, behind IBM, with 2,453 patents, up from fifth in 2005, IFI said. Canon was third with 2,378 and Matsushita Electric Industrial, which makes plasma televisions, was fourth with 2,273. Both companies are based in Japan.
Hewlett-Packard, based in California, received 2,113 patents, IFI said. The company is the largest maker of personal computers and printers.
Last year was the first time any company other than IBM received more than 2,000 U.S. patents, IFI said, suggesting a "growing emphasis on the value of intellectual property." IFI also said the numbers indicate that the Patent and Trademark Office is succeeding in reducing an application backlog.
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