New York-based IBM Corp., a technology company with a campus in the Research Triangle Park, was first on the list of the top U.S. patent recipients in 2013.
This was the 21st consecutive year the company has held the top spot on the list produced by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services.
IBM received 6,809 patents in the year, up 5 percent from the prior year. It had 2,000 more patents than the No. 2 company, Samsung Electronics.
The ranking included Canon at 3, Sony at 4, and Microsoft at 5. Qualcomm made its first appearance in the top 10 at No. 9. The company had a 62 percent increase from the prior year, according to a news release from IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. Google Inc. and Apple Inc. made the top 20 for the first time.
According to IFI, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued 277,835 utility patents in 2013, an increase of about 10 percent from 2012. That was the most patents issued in a single year. A total of 18 U.S. firms made the list of the top 50 firms in 2013, up from 17 in 2012 and 2011.
Herald-Sun
