56 percent of top patentees in U.S. are from Asia;
Samsung Electronics leads the group and Japan covers almost half of patenting activity
EAGAN, Minn., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters released the results of its 2009 Top Patentees analysis today, ranking the top 25 companies receiving patents in the U.S. over the past year. The study found that 64 percent of the top 25 companies were from outside the U.S., 14 of which were from Asia.
Korean-based Samsung Electronics Co. LTD, number two on the list overall behind leader IBM, received 4,049 granted patents in the U.S. in 2009. Eleven Japanese companies and one each from Taiwan, China, Finland and Germany also made the top 25 U.S. Patentee list. Asian organizations now account for 56 percent of the top patentees in the United States; Japan alone is responsible for 44 percent of the activity with companies such as Canon KK and Panasonic Corporation in the top five, followed by Toshiba, Sony Corporation and Hitachi, to name a few.
The top 25 firms receiving the most patents in the U.S. in 2009 were:
Rank Company Name 2009 Patents Country/Region of Origin
---- ------------ ------------ -----------------
1. IBM 4,843 US
2. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD 4,049 KR
3. MICROSOFT CORP 3,157 US
4. CANON KK 2,200 JP
5. PANASONIC CORP(1) 1,933 JP
6. TOSHIBA KK 1,911 JP
7. SONY CORP 1,829 JP
8. INTEL CORP 1,505 US
9. HITACHI 1,428 JP
10. FUJITSU LTD 1,414 JP
11. SEIKO EPSON CORP 1,349 JP
12. HEWLETT PACKARD DEV CO 1,266 US
13. LG ELECTRONICS INC 1,148 KR
14. HON HAI PRECISION IND CO LTD 1,060 TW
15. RICOH KK 999 JP
16. GENERAL ELECTRIC 961 US
17. MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 951 US
18. NOKIA CORP 920 FI
19. CISCO TECH INC 898 US
20. HONDA MOTOR CO LTD 886 JP
21. FUJIFILM CORP 875 JP
22. DENSO CORP 728 JP
23. SIEMENS AG 712 DE
24. BROADCOM CORP 704 US
25. HONEYWELL INT INC 659 US
(1) Formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.
The top technology areas receiving the most U.S.-granted patents in 2009 were: Electric Digital Data Processing (25,241 patents), Semiconductor Devices (13,483 patents), Transmission of Digital Information (10,349 patents), Preparations of Medical, Dental &Toilet Purposes (7,362 patents), and Pictorial Communications (7,071 patents). Notably, Electric Digital Data Processing saw a 9 percent increase over 2008.
"In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, intellectual property is a key metric in determining the value of a company," said Jeremy Rosie, director of Expert Services, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions. "The large volume of patents granted in the United States in 2009 highlights the importance of this market to global organizations and the investment top companies make in remaining on the cutting edge of their industries."
This report was compiled using patent data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office through Thomson Reuters IP Solutions offerings. It aggregates granted patents for the calendar year from January 1 through December 31, 2009.
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