In 2012, American tech company, IBM, was granted a record setting 6, 478 patents according to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The computing juggernaut has been the forerunner since 1993, creating 67,000 patents throughout the last 20 years. This is a record for the most patents, as well as a milestone for the multi-faceted faces behind IBM.
Fellow tech company, Samsung, came in second place with 5,081 patents, and Canon in third place with 3,174. Samsung famously lost their battle against Apple over the similarities between Androids and iPhones in fall 2012, but were still granted a significant amount of patents.
Google and Apple were amongst the 21st and 22nd places, which was still better than the previous years standings. It is speculated that both companies will be more proactive in the coming future about patenting.
IBM plans on tackling many aspects of technology across the board, from security to social media, and focusing on their future of “cognitive systems.” Their large collection of patents ensures that there will be less legal troubles down the road in an often cut-throat world of tech intellectual property.
One of IBM’s most recent successes was Watson, the robot contestant on the television game show, Jeopardy. That same technology is being cultivated to be of a more beneficial use: to doctors and other scientists who would use the technology to help in problem solving and diagnoses.