Asian Tech Dominance, Examination Backlogs Highlight IFI CLAIMS’ Annual Patent Reports

The dominance of Asian tech companies in the U.S. patent space and the impacts of growing backlogs in patent examination were major takeaways from the Top 50 U.S. Patent Assignees and Global 250 Lists, published by IFI CLAIMS on January 9. The patent database developer also released a Top 10 Fastest Growing Technologies list reflecting the strong global popularity of smoking, whether via electrical device or in traditional cigarette form.

IBM Cedes Further Ground Among Top 50 U.S. Patent Assignees

For the second year in a row, South Korean technology conglomerate Samsung Electronics maintained the top spot in IFI CLAIMS’ Top 50 U.S. patent assignees during the previous year. While Samsung’s 6,165 U.S. patent grants last year actually reflected a 1.3% decline from its 2022 totals, the Asian tech giant still received nearly twice as many patents as second-place Qualcomm. The San Diego, CA-based chip developer received 3,854 U.S. patents during 2023, slightly more than patents received by chip rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Armonk, NY-based information technology company International Business Machines (IBM).

For 29 years, IBM had been the top U.S. patentee until a deliberate shift in corporate patent strategy saw Samsung take over as the leading recipient of U.S. patent grants last year. IBM’s 3,658 U.S. patents during 2023 represented another 16.8% decline in the tech firm’s patenting activity from the prior year.

While many companies saw greater totals of patent grants during 2023, the overall grant rate for U.S. patents declined by 3.4%, returning to pre-pandemic issuance levels. That decline may be related to longer patent pendencies at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), according to IFI CLAIMS chief executive Ronald Kratz. “The backlog for patent applications at the USPTO has been growing over the last couple of years,” Kratz stated in a press release. “They now have more than 750,000 unexamined applications, which could explain why grants are down.” More than 418,000 patent applications were filed during 2023, an all-time record at the USPTO, which Kratz said was a reflection of positive innovation activity in the United States.

At the national level, nearly 150,000 U.S. patents, about half of the total issued during 2023, were granted to domestic firms. Collectively, U.S. companies received 4.8% more U.S. patents last year than they did during 2022. In stark contrast, companies from Japan, China and Germany, three other countries in the top five, saw their collective U.S. patent grants drop by double-digit percentage points. Among the top 10 countries, only companies from Taiwan and Canada saw increased U.S. patent grants during 2023 as compared to their 2022 totals.

Japan Accounts for One-Third of Top 250 Owners of Global Active Patent Families

IFI CLAIMS’ Global 250 list reflected the strong position of Asian companies, especially Japanese firms, in holding the largest portfolios of patent assets currently in force. Leading the Top 250 is Osaka-based Panasonic Corporation, which held 94,337 active patent families as of January 2 of this year. Panasonic held steady from its active patent holdings from a year ago, when it owned only four more active families. Close behind Panasonic are Samsung and Chiyoda City-based conglomerate Hitachi, both of which own more than 92,500 active patent families. Like Panasonic, Samsung and Hitachi also saw less than single-digit percentage changes in their active patent holdings.

The biggest mover on the Global 250 is sixth-place China Petrochemical Corp., which increased its total active patent family holdings by nearly 33% since last year. IFI CLAIMS reports that the Chinese state-owned petrochemical company obtained nearly 16,500 assets over the past year, growing its portfolio to 66,636 active families as of January 2. Overall, Japan is home to more than one-third of all companies on the Global 250, with the U.S. and China each claiming about 20% of Global 250 companies. The top U.S. firm is IBM with more than 43,000 active patent families, reflecting that the company still maintains a leading spot in the U.S. innovation economy.

Phillip Morris Drives Patent Filing Activity in Two Smoking Tech Sectors

The strong global consumer market for innovative smoking products was a major takeaway from IFI CLAIMS’ analysis on the fastest growing technologies over the past five years. Patent application filings in autonomous vehicles saw the greatest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.3%. However, this was closely followed by the 35.8% CAGR in patent application filings that claimed electrical smoking devices including e-cigarette components, such as chargers and temperature controls. American tobacco company Phillip Morris led patent filing activity in both this sector as well as in cigarettes, the sixth-fastest growing technology area on IFI CLAIMS’ list.

Filling out the top three fastest growing technologies was the category “special features related to earth drilling for obtaining oil, gas, or water,” which covers components and systems for sustainable resource harvesting. This sector is led by American energy company Halliburton followed by Saudi Arabian state-owned petrochemical firm Aramco. Other technological sectors on IFI CLAIMS’ fastest growing list include breathing masks, quantum computers, laundry appliance control systems, information processing nanotechnology, electric digital data processing, and waste processing.

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