TSMC gets an entry in the 2017 list of top 10 US patent recipients

　IFI Claims Patent Services, the leading producer of global patent databases, released the annual analysis with respect to the 2017 top U.S. patent recipients.  The top three US patent recipients are IBM (No. 1), Samsung Electronics (No. 2), and Canon (No. 3).  Intel and Korea-based LG each rises two spots to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.  Qualcomm moves down to No. 6, while Taiwan-based, TSMC stays No. 9 and China-based Huawei breaks into the top 20 list. 

　IBM still claims the top honor with 9,043 grants, followed by Samsung with 5,837 grants.  Canon holds the No. 3 position with 3,285 grants.  Moreover, Huawei makes its debut in the top 20 ranking with 1,474 grants, and TSMC had received a total of 2,425 patents, up around 6% from 2016. 

　According to IFI Claims report, the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) had granted a total of 320,003 invention patents in 2017, up around 5.2% from 2016.  The analysis by region shows that the U.S. accounts for 46% of the 2017 grants, and Asia holds the second largest share at 31% after the U.S..  Following Asia, Europe holds 15%.  Even though Mainland China holds only 3.5% share of the 2017 grants or 11,240 patents, Mainland China sees a 28% increase from 2016. 

　Besides, IFI Claims’ research uncovered eight technologies with most significant growth, which include e-cigarettes, 3D printing, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, molding materials, hybrid vehicles, aerial drones, and food.  (January 2018)
/CCS