Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, filed the most patent applications among all local and foreign applicants in the first quarter of this year, the Intellectual Property Office said on Friday.
Among foreign applicants, US-based smartphone IC designer Qualcomm Inc was the largest patent applicant in Taiwan from January to March, the office said.
Data compiled by the office showed that in the first quarter, TSMC filed 723 invention patents, a quarterly high for the chipmaker since the office began tallying patent applications in 2012.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg
TSMC’s first-quarter patent applications for inventions rose by about 7 percent from a year earlier, reflecting the chipmaker’s efforts to upgrade its technologies and maintain its lead over peers.
Taiwanese law has three categories for patents — invention, utility model and design.
Invention patents are considered the most important in the technology sector.
Communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱半導體) was second among Taiwanese companies after filing 107 invention applications in the first quarter, down by 4 percent from a year earlier, ahead of flat-panel maker Innolux Corp (群創光電) with 98, memorychip supplier Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) with 98, and flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) with 88.
Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) was sixth with 66 invention patent applications in the first quarter, followed by PC brand Acer Inc (宏碁) with 63, contract electronics maker Wistron Corp (緯創) with 58, contract notebook computer maker Inventec Corp (英業達) with 47 and memorychip maker Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) with 46, the data showed.
Qualcomm filed 242 invention patent applications in the first quarter as the top foreign applicant, up 13 percent from a year earlier, the office said.
US semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc was second among foreign invention patent applicants with 206 applications, up by 61 percent from a year earlier, followed by Japanese electrical product maker Nitto Denko Corp with 149, Japan-based semiconductor supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd with 142, and Japanese memorychip supplier Kioxia Holdings Corp with 134, the office said.
US-based semiconductor giant Intel Corp filed 71 invention applications in the first quarter. While Intel is in ninth place among foreign applicants, its applications increased year-on-year by 914 percent, the office said.
In the first quarter, 12,534 invention patent applications were filed, up 5 percent from a year earlier, while the number of applications from foreign entities rose by 10 percent to 7,837, the office said, adding that local applications fell to 4,697 from 4,742, the office said.
The number of invention, utility model and design patents filed in Taiwan reached 17,498 in the first quarter, up 2 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
RSS