Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last year retained its position as the No. 1 patent applicant in the nation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Intellectual Property Office said.
TSMC filed 937 patent applications, the highest annual total for the company, data compiled by the office showed.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker and a major assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, was the No. 2 domestic firm with 485 applications, the office said.
The government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (工研院) was the third-largest applicant with 451, ahead of PC vendor Acer Corp (宏碁) with 380 and flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) with 357, it added.
Integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) came in sixth after filing 349 applications, followed by bubble jet printer equipment provider MicroJet Technology Co (研能科技) with 251.
Far East University, the only university in the top 10, filed 205, followed by China Steel Corp (中鋼) with 203 and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) with 172, it said.
Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), was the top foreign patent applicant, the data showed.
Alibaba last year filed 762 patent applications, more than US-based smartphone chip designer Qualcomm Inc’s 604, semiconductor production equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc’s 493, US IC giant Intel Corp’s 429 and Japan-based Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co’s 352, the office said.
The office said it received 73,791 patent applications last year, up 2 percent from the previous year, reversing a three-year drop in applications.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
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