IBM Again Takes Patent Prize
IBM Again Takes Patent Prize
January 12, 2007: For the 14th year running, IBM has taken the top prize at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO,) with a record 3,651 patents issued in 2006.
Other IT notables to hit the top of the list included Samsung at number two, Canon at three, HP at number five, Intel at six and Hitachi at 8. All had their biggest patent issue year yet and exceeded the 2,000 mark. Meanwhile Microsoft, renown for its patent squabbles, held in at number twelve.
The list was compiled by IFI Patent Intelligence which uses original data from USPTO alongside indexing and standardisation algorithms provided by CLAIMS, a searchable database of US patents around the world.
In news that might suggest the world isn’t yet completely ready for open source, IFI’s analysis found a record 173,772 corporate patents issued. That’s a 20.8 percent increase from 2005.
Darlene Slaughter, general manager of IFI Patent Intelligence, says the amount of patents granted is not necessarily a gauge of technological advancements. “The relative increase in number of patents being generated indicates a growing emphasis on the value of intellectual property,” she says.
Japan-based organisations held 9 of the top 20 slots with US-based organisations holding just seven. Electronics as usual, dominated the top 25 list but IFI Patent Intelligence says other sectors are showing significant growth.
With IBM’s patent domination still in tact, the company is working to develop and host what it calls the ‘Inventors Forum.’ The online initiative will provide the space for smaller enterprises to debate and share ideas on patent systems and work to improve quality of patents issued.
According to IBM, the number of patents issued may actually reflect the work of smaller organisations who do not have the means to collaborate with others to improve the overall quality of their inventions.