January 10, 2002
#02-01
USPTO Releases Annual List of Top 10 Organizations
USPTO RELEASES ANNUAL LIST OF TOP 10 ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING MOST PATENTS
PRESS RELEASE
IBM repeats at top of list
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the top 10 private sector patent recipients for the 2001 calendar year. Listed below are the 10 corporations receiving the most patents for inventions in 2001, along with their ranking last year. For the ninth consecutive year, IBM received more patents than any other private sector organization.
"I am proud that American corporations are leaders among U.S. patent holders," said James E. Rogan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. "Patents promote technological progress and are a potent force for competitive free enterprise. Global confidence in the U.S. patent system confirms the strength of the American marketplace, and plays a key role in bringing an end to the recession."
|
Preliminary
Rank in 2001* |
Preliminary *
#Patents in 2001* |
Organization*
|
(Final Rank)
(in 2000) |
(Final Number of)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
3,411
|
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) |
(1)
|
(2,886)
|
|
2
|
1,953
|
NEC Corporation |
(2)
|
(2,021)
|
|
3
|
1,877
|
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha |
(3)
|
(1,890)
|
|
4
|
1,643
|
Micron Technology, Inc. |
(7)
|
(1,304)
|
|
5
|
1,450
|
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
(4)
|
(1,441)
|
|
6
|
1,440
|
Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., Ltd. |
(11)
|
(1,137)
|
|
7
|
1,363
|
Sony Corporation |
(6)
|
(1,385)
|
|
8
|
1,271
|
Hitachi, Ltd. |
(13)
|
(1,036)
|
|
9
|
1,184
|
Mitsbushi. Denki Kabushiki Kaisha |
(14)
|
(1,010)
|
|
10
|
1,166
|
Fujitsu Limited |
(10)
|
(1,147)
|
* The listed patent counts are preliminary counts, which are subject to correction. The final listing of patent counts for the top patenting organizations in 2001 should be available by early April 2002. Patent information reflects patent ownership at patent grant and does not include ownership changes that occur after the patent grant. Where more than one assignee (owner) exists, patents are attributed to the first-named assignee.
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