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Silicon Valley Nation: Patent frenzy picks up pace
Brian Fuller
1/11/2013 7:01 AM EST
SAN FRANCISCO--IBM is still the patent king. So too is Shunpei
Yamazaki. And Sanofi-Aventis. And so too is the electronics
industry, but more about that later.
In data released this week, IBM topped the list of the most prolific U.S. patent assignees with 6,478, according to IFI Claims. IBM, which topped the list for the 20th straight year, was followed next by one Korean company and three Japanese companies to round out the top five. Microsoft was kicked down t notch to No. 6. (See top 10 chart below).
Pure-play semiconductor companies nabbed three of the top 20 spots: Qualcomm (#17), Intel (#18) and Broadcom (#20).
(Source: IFI Claims Patent Services)
But as always, there is gold be sifted from the data silt.
Next: Big winners
In data released this week, IBM topped the list of the most prolific U.S. patent assignees with 6,478, according to IFI Claims. IBM, which topped the list for the 20th straight year, was followed next by one Korean company and three Japanese companies to round out the top five. Microsoft was kicked down t notch to No. 6. (See top 10 chart below).
Pure-play semiconductor companies nabbed three of the top 20 spots: Qualcomm (#17), Intel (#18) and Broadcom (#20).
| # | Grants | Assignee Name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6478 | International Business Machines | United States |
| 2 | 5081 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd KR | Korea |
| 3 | 3174 | Canon K K JP | Japan |
| 4 | 3032 | Sony Corp JP | Japan |
| 5 | 2769 | Panasonic Corp JP | Japan |
| 6 | 2613 | Microsoft Corp | United States |
| 7 | 2447 | Toshiba Corp JP | Japan |
| 8 | 2013 | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd TW | Taiwan |
| 9 | 1652 | General Electric Co | United States |
| 10 | 1624 | LG Electronics Inc KR | Korea |
(Source: IFI Claims Patent Services)
But as always, there is gold be sifted from the data silt.
Next: Big winners
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rick.merritt
1/11/2013 2:22 PM EST
Yikes, Kia Silverbrook filed nearly five patents on average a day in 2012!
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charlie babcock
1/11/2013 7:31 PM EST
Today versus 20 years ago: Bio/Pharma,energy in decline in terms of winning patents; electronics/telecom/solid state on the rise. Charlie Babcock, Editor at large, InformationWeek
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