Samsung Reigns In US Patents, Tesla Stays Out: How Do Apple, Qualcomm, And IBM Compare?

Samsung Electronics retained its position as the top recipient of U.S. patents for the second consecutive year, securing a remarkable 6,165 patents in 2023.

Samsung was followed by Qualcomm Inc QCOM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd TSM, with International Business Machines Corp IBM, traditionally a leader in patents, ranking fourth on the list.

The tech industry’s top players also made their mark in patents, with Apple Inc AAPL, Samsung Display, LG, Micron Technology Inc MU, and Intel Corp INTC among the top 10 recipients, as reported by Barron’s. Notably absent from the top 50 were companies like Meta Platforms Inc META, while Tesla Inc TSLA continued its philosophy of abstaining from patents.

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Industries experiencing rapid growth in patents:

• Autonomous Driving, led by Toyota Motor Corp TM and Alphabet Inc‘s GOOG GOOGL Waymo unit.
• Electrical Smoking Devices, with Altria Group Inc‘s MO Philip Morris unit showing high activity.
• Other areas include Quantum Computing, Breathing Masks (amidst the pandemic), and Nanotechnology, where TSMC, IBM, Intel, and Samsung held prominent positions.

The patent landscape's shifting dynamics underscore the intense competition in technological innovation across various sectors. While Samsung Electronics retains its dominance, the patent realm continues to evolve with emerging trends and new players carving their niche in this ever-expanding domain.

The total number of U.S. patents issued decreased by 3.4%, dropping to 312,095 patents, despite a record number of patent applications reaching 418,111. Patents granted in the U.S. experienced a decline for the second year running, as reported by research firm IFI Claims Patent Services (data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office).

While U.S. companies secured nearly half of all patents granted in 2023, Japan and South Korea emerged as significant recipients, though overall patent grants for these countries saw declines.

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