                 LIST OF TOP PATENTING ORGANIZATIONS *

                          Calendar Year 1999

    This report presents a preliminary list of the organizations receiving

    the most patents for invention (i.e., utility patents) during the 1999

    CALENDAR year.

    International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) ranks first, receiving

    2,756 utility patents, up four percent from its total for 1998. This is

    the seventh consecutive year that IBM has received more utility patents

    than any other non-Federal patenting organization.

    NEC Corporation ranks second, receiving 1,842 patents, up thirteen

    percent from the previous year, and Canon Kabushiki Kaisha ranks third

    with 1,795 patents for the year. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung)

    continues to receive a rapidly increasing number of patents and is now

    ranked fourth with 1,545 patents, eighteen percent above its count for

    1998. Last year, Samsung ranked sixth (1,304 patents in 1998); two years

    ago, it ranked seventeenth (582 patents in 1997).

    The U.S. organization, Motorola, Inc., drops from fourth to eighth

    position while Lucent Technologies Inc. joins the list for the first time

    with 1,153 patents, up twenty-four percent from its count for the

    previous year. Among Japanese organizations, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki

    Kaisha, rejoins the list after a one year absence while Hitachi, Ltd drops

    from the list. The U.S. Government received 870 utility patents for the

    year (please see "#" note below (5/18/2000)).

    As was the case last year, the top ten patenting organizations consist of

    three U.S. corporations, six Japanese corporations, and one corporation

    from the Republic of Korea. A complete listing of the top ten patenting

    organizations receiving utility patents in 1999 is shown below. Patent

    receipts by the U.S. Government are also displayed.

    1999    1999                                         ( Rank  )  (# Patents)

    Rank  # Patents  Organization                        (in 1998)  ( in 1998 )

    ----  ---------  --------------------------          ---------  ----------

      1     2,756    International Business Machines Corp  (1)       (2,657)

      2     1,842    NEC Corporation                       (3)       (1,627)

      3     1,795    Canon Kabushiki Kaisha                (2)       (1,928)

      4     1,545    Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.         (6)       (1,304)

      5     1,409    Sony Corporation                      (5)       (1,316)

      6     1,200    Toshiba Corporation                   (8)       (1,170)

      7     1,193    Fujitsu Limited                       (7)       (1,189)

      8     1,192    Motorola Inc.                         (4)       (1,406)

      9     1,153    Lucent Technologies Inc.             (13)         (928)

     10     1,054    Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha    (11)       (1,080)

              870 #  U.S. GOVERNMENT                                 (1,018)

            +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

       #    +  Please note that the 1999 count of U.S. GOVERNMENT patents has +

            +  been revised upward to 983. See the report, "Patenting         +

            +  By Organizations, 1999" for other updated counts.    (5/18/00) +

            +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    * The  listed patent counts are preliminary counts which are subject to

    correction. The final listing of 1999 patent counts for the top patenting

    organizations should be available by early April.

    Please Note:

    Patent information presented 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.

    No attempt has been made to combine data based on subsidiary relationships.

    However, where possible, spelling variations and variations based on name

    changes have been merged into a single name (e.g., ESSO to EXXON).  While

    every effort is made to accurately identify all organizational entities and

    to report data by a single organization name, achievement of a totally

    clean record is not expected, particularly in view of the many variations

    which occur in corporate identifications.

    ------------------

    Questions regarding this report should be directed to:

    (address as of 5/2000)

                 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

                 Information Products Division

                 Technology Assessment and Forecast Branch

                 PK3-Suite 441

                 Washington, DC  20231

                 tel (703) 306-2600

                 FAX (703) 306-2737

    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    SOURCE:   U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

              Technology Assessment and Forecast database  (1-6-2000)