International Business Machines Corp, the world's biggest computer maker, topped the list of companies receiving US patents for the 11th year in a row.
IBM received a record-breaking 3,415 patents, 70 percent more than next company on the list, Japanese copier maker Canon Inc, which also ranked second last year. The US Patent and Trademark Office released the figures today in Alexandria, Virginia.
IBM, which has one of the biggest patent portfolios in the world, spent US$4.75 billion on research and development in 2002 and collected US$1.1 billion in royalties. Figures for last year haven't been released. The Armonk, New York-based company seeks to develop new technologies, reach cross-licensing agreements with other companies and ward off patent-infringement lawsuits.
"It helps us establish standards in the industry and the key here is do you have something to offer that others are willing to follow," said Jerry Rosenthal, vice president of intellectual property and licensing for IBM. "It lets us do a lot of cross-licensing and get access to other patent portfolios. You're not able to do that if you don't have a quality portfolio."
Intel Corp, the world's biggest maker of semiconductors, joined the list for the first time by increasing the number of patents it received by 48 percent. The Santa Clara, California-based company received 1,592 patents and was seventh on the list.
Four of the companies on the list are based in the US, four are Japanese, and one each are Korean and Dutch.
"The 2003 patent counts show American technological influence continuing to grow," Jon Dudas, acting under secretary of commerce for intellectual property, said in a statement. "Patents protect intellectual endeavors and encourage technological progress, helping to nurture industries that create jobs for Americans."
Patents secured by IBM included inventions in nanotechnology and the health sciences, fields outside the company's traditional computer business.
"We're getting more and more patents that are just more responsive to where our customers feel they have to be," Rosenthal said. "We've moved very far from the traditional, getting patents on semiconductors that make computers go faster."
Rosenthal said there's no pressure by investors that IBM remain on the top of the list. Still, he said it's become a comfortable spot for Big Blue.
"We've got a very healthy pipeline," he said. "I'm very comfortable we're going to have a large number of patents for the next couple of years."
The companies on the list and the number of patents are:
1. International Business Machines Corp (3,415)
2. Canon Inc (1,992)
3. Hitachi Ltd (1,893)
4. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (1,786)
5. Hewlett-Packard Co (1,759)
6. Micron Technology Inc (1,707)
7. Intel Corp (1,592)
8. Royal Philips Electronics NV (1,353)
9. Samsung Electronics Co (1,313)
10. Sony Corp (1,311)
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