Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, retained its title as the most prolific applicant for invention patents in Taiwan in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
In the first six months of the year, the number of patent applications for inventions, utility models and designs, among others, was 33,954, down 4 percent from the same period last year, due mainly to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on industrial research and development, the Intellectual Property Office said.
In the first half of the year, TSMC filed 375 applications for invention patents, the highest number in the nation, retaining its place as the most prolific applicant in the period for the fourth consecutive year, the office said.
Integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) had the second-highest number of filings for invention patent applications at 211, followed by flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) with 210, it said.
US-based Qualcomm Inc was the top foreign applicant for invention patents, filing 304, while Ford Motor Co led in design patent applications with 114 filings, the office’s data showed.
In terms of other nations, Japan was the top patent applicant, filing 6,105 applications, and it also filed the largest number of design patent applications at 497, the data showed.
In the first six months, domestic applicants filed 32,843 trademark applications, the highest number since 2000 and a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the data showed.
The number of trademark applications filed by foreign applicants fell 12 percent year-on-year to 10,542 in the six-month period, due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office said.
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