IBM tops Asian dominated US patent rankings

1 March 2012
In 2011, for the nineteenth consecutive year, IBM was granted most patents in the USA according to figures from the American patent research company, IFI Claims. During the year the computing colossus added a total of 6,180 new patents to its IP portfolio. Korea’s Samsung came in second place with 4,894 patents, while Japan’s Canon advanced to third with 2,821 new patents granted.

Companies from Asia are rapidly climbing in the listings and now hold eight of the top ten positions. The only other non-Asian company in the Top Ten is sixth-placed Microsoft.

In IFI’s opinion, IBM is likely to face some serious challenges for the top spot in the next few years. Samsung eclipsed IBM in terms of the number of patent applications it filed both in 2010 and in 2011, and this can lead to a change at the top if and when these patents are granted.