Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has once again topped the nation’s list for patent filings, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Intellectual Property Office said yesterday, citing its tallies for the third quarter.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker had a 76 percent increase in the number of invention patent applications to 533, while flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) lagged behind with 120 applications, a 12 percent increase, the office’s data showed.
IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) remained in third with 96 invention applications, increasing 16 percent year-on-year, while industry peer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱) squeezed into fourth with 88 filings, up 52 percent, the data showed.
PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) fell to fifth, as it filed 77 invention patents, down 6 percent on an annual basis, the data showed.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), an assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, did not make the top 10, as it filed only 32 invention patents, declining by 37 percent year-on-year, the data showed.
However, Hon Hai subsidiary Polight Technologies Ltd (新煒科技), which specializes in camera modules, clinched ninth place on the list with 39 invention patents, the office said.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) retained its place as the top foreign firm with a 139 percent increase in invention patent applications to 315, the data showed.
US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc inched into second place, despite a 20 percent decline in its patent filings to 187, the office said.
Patents are categorized into three groups: invention, utility model and design patents, the office said, adding that invention patents are the most important in terms of the creation of technical ideas.
Out of 18,976 patents filed last quarter, invention patents continued to dominate with 4 percent growth to 12,260 thanks to an 11 percent increase in applications by local firms, it said.
Nevertheless, design patents saw small progress, with applications growing 2.9 percent year-on-year to 2,264, the office said, attributing the growth to a 23 percent surge in filings from foreign companies.
Foreign companies were responsible for 54.46 percent of the design patents filed last quarter, with Japanese firms topping the list by a combined 299 design patents, it said.
Utility model patents last quarter also posted a 1.59 percent year-on-year growth in applications to 4,452, due to a 2.09 percent increase in filings from local firms, it added.
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