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January 10, 2006
Top Drawer
Asian
companies continue to show patenting strength in the U.S., according to figures
just released by the USPTO. While IBM is still top dog, five of the top ten
patenting companies are Japanese, with a Korean sitting in the middle.
In announcing the results, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas crowed, "America’s technological and economic strength is the result of its tremendous ingenuity."
For 2005, number of patents, of the top ten patentees, U.S. = 8,840; Asia = 7,848.
| 2005 Rank | 2005 Patents | Company | 2004 Rank | 2004 Patents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
2,941
|
IBM |
(1)
|
(3,248) |
| 2 |
1,828
|
Canon |
(3)
|
(1,805)
|
| 3 |
1,797
|
Hewlett-Packard |
(4)
|
(1,775)
|
| 4 |
1,688
|
Matsushita Electric |
(2)
|
(1,934)
|
| 5 |
1,641
|
Samsung Electronics |
(6)
|
(1,604)
|
| 6 |
1,561
|
Micron Technology |
(5)
|
(1,760)
|
| 7 |
1,549
|
Intel |
(7)
|
(1,601)
|
| 8 |
1,271
|
Hitachi |
(8)
|
(1,513)
|
| 9 |
1,258
|
Toshiba |
(9)
|
(1,311)
|
| 10 |
1,154
|
Fujitsu |
(11)
|
(1,296)
|
Source: USPTO
Japan's ascendance was punctuated in 2003, when Japan outpaced Germany for the first time, coming in second behind the U.S., in the number of patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Posted by Patent Hawk at January 10, 2006 7:09 AM | Patents In Business