Who files the most patents? A key Apple supplier, Foxconn, is in the top ten. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is known by its followers to be particularly grabby in the patent space, which can be seen as a virtue or a sin, depending on your feelings toward the tech company. That’s why it’s surprising to note that in the year 2012, Apple itself was not among the U.S.’s top ten filers, but it did have a place in the top 30.
A patent is a form of intellectual property, and it involves a set of exclusive rights given by a state for an inventor. It is a solution to a technological good and is related to some kind of product or process.
Photo Credit: mattsches
Due to the fast development of the tech space in general, its companies have dominated this space over the past year. A key issue, though, has been the so-called “patent war,” which raged in 2012, contributing to the importance of determining just who files the most patents.
They primary conflict of this “war” was the litigation between Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX:005930) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which ended with a $1.05 billion win in favor of Apple. An interesting thing was that Apple and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) were two tech companies who spent more money on patent litigation and patent purchases than on research and development.
While companies are concerned with their current research and development, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is already thinking more than just a couple of years ahead. Insider Monkey recently published a story about Apple filing several patents for products it may plan to launch in the future.
However, the war on patents is not slowing down and firms continue to register more and more inventions in order to beat their competitors, but several companies are leaders in applying for exclusive rights for their inventions. Surprisingly, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not in the top ten companies who filed the most patents, which could be one of the consequences of the “war.” Apple’s latest version of iPhone is perceived as having more improvements than innovations, and some skeptics have said that Apple may lose its innovative edge.
We have compiled a list of these patent-loving companies who file the most; the information was taken from the IFI Claims Patent Services list, which is based on data from the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.
Highlights include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), BlackBerry/Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Sharp, and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM). There’s a mild surprise at No. 1, which, despite the fact that it’s been the leader for the past 20 years, it doesn’t get as much press as this tech company, for example.
Who else made the cut?
No. 30: Siemens, 977 patents
No. 29: Research In Motion, 986 patents
No. 28: Brother Kogyo, 1012 patents
No. 27: Fujifilm, 1033 patents
No. 26: Renesas Electronics, 1039 patents
No. 25: Xerox, 1050 patents
No. 24: Sharp, 1118 patents
See where Apple, Google, BlackBerry, and the rest are:
No. 23: Honda Motor, 1132 patents
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No. 22: Apple, 1136 patents
Photo Credit: Marco Paköeningrat
No. 21: Google, 1151 patents
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No. 20: Broadcom, 1157 patents
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No. 19: Toyota Jidosha, 1285 patents
Photo Credit: M 93
No. 18: Intel, 1290 patents
Photo Credit: Ninosan
No. 17: Qualcomm, 1292 patents
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No. 16: GM Global Technology Operations, 1377 patents
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No. 15: Hewlett-Packard, 1394 patents
Photo Credit: innovate360
No. 14: Ricoh, 1410 patents
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No. 13: Hitachi, 1436 patents
Photo Credit: Bernat Agullo
No. 12: Seiko Epson, 1461 patents
Photo Credit: Guy Sie
No. 11: Fujitsu, 1535 patents
Photo Credit: Elías Gómez
See where the Apple-supplier rests:
No. 10: LG Electronics, 1624 patents
Photo Credit: LGEPR
No.9: General Electric, 1652 patents
Photo Credit: Marion Doss
No.8: Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn parent), 2013 patents
Photo Credit: mattsches
No.7: Toshiba, 2447 patents
Photo Credit: LGEPR
No.6: Microsoft, 2613 patents
Photo Credit: Shawn Campbell
No.5: Panasonic, 2769 patents
Photo Credit: TAKA@P.P.R.S
No.4: Sony, 3032 patents
Photo Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns
No.3: Canon, 3174 patents
Photo Credit: Benjamin Nagel
No.2: Samsung, 5081 patents
Photo Credit: Graham Kennery
No.1: IBM, 6478 patents
Photo Credit: Josh Carlson
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. This compilation isn’t what many probably expected, but it’s worth paying attention too, nonetheless.
Disclosure: none
