Although IBM still tops the list and is ahead by a relatively wide margin, the scales of patent-quantity supremacy may be shifting away from corporate America in favor of companies overseas, especially to those in Asia. As part of its analysis, IFI looked at 2008 utility patents assigned to companies separate from those owned by individuals. It found that American companies captured only 49 percent of U.S. patents granted to companies compared to 50 percent in 2007. In addition, the U.S. holds only four - less than half - of the top 10 slots, down from five the prior year. American firms also hold only 12 positions in the top 35, which collectively generated 26 percent of all the utility patents granted in 2008.
In comparison, Japanese companies hold five of the top 10 slots and 14 of the top 35. Although America is still the leading single country in total new patents for 2008, Japan trails second with 23 percent; Germany is third with 6 percent; South Korea fourth with 5 percent; and Taiwan fifth with 4 percent.
The first organization to break the 4,000 patent barrier, IBM Corporation set a new all-time record of 4,186, up 33 percent over last year. Samsung continues to hold the No. 2 slot with 3,515, up 29 percent over 2007; followed by Canon at No. 3, with 2,114; Microsoft comes in at No. 4 with 2,030, up 24 percent over last year and 400 percent since 2003; and Intel at No. 5. Other notable movers in the top 35 include Broadcom and Cisco, both up 21 percent over 2007; Hon Hai of Taiwan, up 63 percent and new to the top 35; Fujifilm, up 31 percent; and LG Philips LCD, up 25 percent.
"Although data suggest that American companies garnered a minority share of the total number of corporate U.S. patents last year, it's important not to confuse quantity with quality," said Darlene Slaughter, general manager of IFI Patent Intelligence.
"What's clear is that many of the world's largest companies are placing a higher priority on protecting their intellectual property. This trend is occurring both here in the U.S. and abroad especially in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and other countries in Europe," continued Slaughter. "Securing patents may be even more important in a down economy, since it gives patent-holders an edge over their competitors."
It also is worth noting that many of the patents granted in 2008 were applied for back in 2005 and 2006, so today's economy probably had little, if any, effect on 2008 approvals. "It will be interesting to report on how the patent pipeline flows two years from now and to see if the down economy leads to more or less patent activity," added Slaughter. IFI data confirm that there was a three-year downward trend in patent approvals from 2003-2005, a period that followed the last recession in 2001.
Although annual utility patent grants have been up and down for the past decade, interest in protecting intellectual property both in the U.S and abroad is on an up swing. The USPTO posted a 6 percent increase in patent applications for its fiscal year 2008 for a total of 466,147. A growing backlog of patent applications has ensued for the past two decades and continues to pile up at the USPTO, with 1.2 million patents pending approval, according to its website.
"Just as the USPTO is creating new efficiencies to make progress against the backlog, they're finding an increase in the number of new filings each year makes the process a true up-hill battle," added Slaughter.
Employing proprietary authority lists and algorithms to enhance the speed and accuracy of the culling process, IFI Patent Intelligence analyzed 2008 USPTO data and prepared what has become the de facto standard ranking of U.S. patent assignees. A comprehensive analysis of U.S. patent ownership data for 2008 will be published by IFI. IFI's list of 2008's Top 35 performers is posted on its website, www.ificlaims.com, and follows:
Rank Company Name 2008 Patents 1 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 4186 2 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD KR 3515 3 CANON K K JP 2114 4 MICROSOFT CORP 2030 5 INTEL CORP 1776 6 MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO LTD JP (1) 1745 7 TOSHIBA CORP JP 1609 8 FUJITSU LTD JP 1494 9 SONY CORP JP 1485 10 HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT CO L P * 1424 * 11 HITACHI LTD JP 1313 12 MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 1250 13 SEIKO EPSON CORP JP 1229 14 GENERAL ELECTRIC CO 912 15 FUJIFILM CORP JP 869 16 RICOH CO LTD JP 857 17 INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG DE 814 18 LG ELECTRONICS INC KR 805 19 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC 757 20 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD JP 747 21 SIEMENS AG DE 724 22 HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO LTD TW 719 23 DENSO CORP JP 708 24 CISCO TECHNOLOGY INC 704 25 BROADCOM CORP 643 26 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC 619 27 NOKIA AB OY FI 608 27 SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY LTD AU 608 29 SHARP K K JP 603 30 NEC CORP JP 547 31 XEROX CORP 529 32 LG PHILIPS LCD CO LTD KR (2) 524 33 RENESAS TECHNOLOGY CORP JP 513 34 SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC 509 35 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N V NL 497 * Includes 4 patents assigned to Hewlett-Packard Co (1) Now Panasonic Corp JP (2) Now LG Display Co Ltd KR
Market sectors with the heaviest new patent activity include the electronic areas of Semiconductor Manufacturing and of Multiplex Communication, each with about 4,430 patents in 2008. The bio sectors of Drug Compositions had 2,990 patents and Biotechnology had almost 2,680 patents issued. Only one automaker, Honda Motor Company, appeared in the top 35 list. Sun Microsystems, down 17 percent, and Micron Technology, down 15 percent, had the two largest percentage declines in new patents compared to 2007, while 2007 list-placers Bosch, Kodak, and Sanyo failed to make the top 35 this year.