Top 25 Patent Holders for 2006

IFI Patent Intelligence announced yesterday its annual compilation of companies receiving the largest amounts of patents for 2006. According to IFI's analysis, 2006 was a banner year for corporate patents with 173,772 issued (an all-time USPTO record) and a significant 20.8 percent increase compared to 2005. This increase comes on the heels of two years in a row of patent-grant decreases and appears to negate the position that patenting activity is on a downswing.

Last month, the USPTO reported that Patent examiners completed 332,000 patent applications in 2006, which is also another record. The Office also boasted that the 54% allowance rate was also the lowest on record. The USPTO received in excess of 440,000 patent applications in 2006 (yes, also a record number), and hired 1,218 patent examiners, exceeding its goal by more than 200 people. The agency will continue to hire over 1,000 patent examiners each year for the next five years.

Top Patent Holders for 2006:

1 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP -- 3651
2 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD KR -- 2453
3 CANON K K JP -- 2378
4 MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO LTD JP -- 2273
5 HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT CO L P -- 2113
6 INTEL CORP -- 1962
7 SONY CORP JP -- 1810
8 HITACHI LTD JP -- 1749
9 TOSHIBA CORP JP -- 1717
10 MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC -- 1612
11 FUJITSU LTD JP -- 1513
12 MICROSOFT CORP -- 1463
13 SEIKO EPSON CORP JP -- 1205
14 GENERAL ELECTRIC CO -- 1051
15 FUJI PHOTO FILM CO LT D JP -- 918
16 INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG DE -- 904
17 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV NL -- 901
18 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC -- 884
19 SIEMENS AG DE -- 857
20 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD JP -- 836
21 SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC -- 776
22 DENSO CORP JP -- 770
23 NEC CORP JP -- 744
24 RICOH CO LTD JP -- 695
25 LG ELECTRONICS INC KR -- 695