IBM tops patent list

IBM has received a record 6 478 patents in 2012 for inventions that will enable advancements across key domains including analytics, Big Data, cybersecurity, cloud, mobile and social networking to name a few.

These patented inventions will advance a major shift in computing, known as the era of cognitive systems.

This is the 20th consecutive year that IBM topped the annual list of U.S. patent recipients.

‚”We are proud of this new benchmark in technological and scientific creativity, which grows out of IBM’s century-long commitment to research and development,‚” said Ginni Rometty, chairman and CEO, IBM. ‚”Most concretely, our 2012 patent record and the two decades of leadership it extends are a testament to thousands of brilliant IBM inventors — the living embodiments of our devotion to innovation that matters, for our clients, for our company and for the world.‚”

IBM’s record-setting 2012 patent tally was made possible by more than 8,000 IBM inventors residing in 46 different U.S. states and 35 countries. IBM inventors residing outside the U.S. contributed to nearly 30% of the company’s 2012 U.S. patent output.

From 1993-2012, IBM inventors received nearly 67,000 U.S. patents. The company’s 2012 patent count exceeded the combined totals of Accenture, Amazon, Apple, EMC, HP, Intel, Oracle/SUN and Symantec.

The Top Ten list of 2012 U.S. patent recipients* includes:

1 IBM 6,478 2 Samsung 5,081 3 Canon 3,174 4 Sony 3,032 5 Panasonic 2,769 6 Microsoft 2,613 7 Toshiba 2,447 8 Hon Hai 2,013 9 General Electric 1,652 10 LG Electronics 1,624

*Data provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services

IBM’s record 2012 patent output featured inventions that are reshaping how companies are applying technology in today’s world of a Smarter Planet and those that are laying the groundwork for the new era of cognitive systems:

Examples of other interesting and important patented inventions from IBM’s record-breaking 2012 patent output can be found at:http://ibm.co/WreuUl.

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