Image via CrunchBase
For the 19th year in a row, Armonk-based IBM secured more patents than any other company in 2011. The company acquired 6,180 patents, 5 percent more than in 2010.
According to PCWorld, Samsung Electronic took second place, securing 4,894 patents in 2011, then Canon (2,821), Panasonic (2559), Toshiba (2,483), Microsoft (which slipped from third place last year–had 2,311), Sony (2,286), Seiko Epson, (1,533), Hon Hai Precision Industry (1,514), and Hitachi (1,465).
Data from IFI Claims Patent Services reveals that in 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued 224,505 utility patents, 2 percent more than the previous year. But according to IFI, while there were more patent grants, patent growth in individual companies is slowing. Among the top 50 companies, 16 produced fewer patents than the year before. Cisco, HP, Intel, Microsoft and Oracle are among the companies with slower patent growth. However, in 2010, only one of the top 50 companies collected fewer patents than 2009.
In a statement, Mike Baycroft, IFI CEO said “Global companies, and especially Asian ones, are collecting U.S patents at a dizzying pace, and now Asian firms hold eight of the top 10 slots in the 2011 ranking,”
IBM might have the most patents, but Samsung’s pace is accelerating. For 2011, its pre-grant applications numbered more than 5,600 while IBM had less than 5,000.
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