China Accounts for Half of Patent Applications
Samsung Electronics Co. ranked second in terms of patent applications filed worldwide between 2013 and 2015, according to a recent report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Seven South Korean companies made the top 50, while China accounted for more than half of the total patent applications.
The WIPO report, titled “World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018,” said Samsung Electronics filed applications for 21,836 patent families between 2013 and 2015, ranking second in the world.
A patent family refers to a set of patents taken in various countries to protect a single invention. The WIPO developed a patent family index, considering the fact that companies tend to apply for patents in multiple countries to protect their technologies.
Samsung Electronics took second place with 7,642 patent familes in 2013 and third place with 7,608 in 2014. It reclaimed the number two spot with 6,586 in 2015, outnumbering Mitsubishi Electric Corp. with 5,269. Computer technology took up the most part with 26.1 percent, followed by digital communication with 15.9 percent and semiconductor with 11.9 percent.
Japan’s Canon Inc. ranked first with 24,006 patent families for three years. The State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) ranked third with 21,635, which was 200 cases lesser than Samsung Electronics, followed by Mitsubishi Electric with 15,277 and IBM Corp. with 14,972.
Eight of the top 10 were companies or institutions located in Asia. Seven South Korean companies entered the top 50, including LG Electronics Inc. at ninth place with 14,561 and Hyundai Motor Co. at 18th with 9,209. By country, Japan took up most with 20, China with 13, the U.S. with 6 and Germany with 4.
Meanwhile, the number of patent applications filed worldwide doubled from 780,000 in 2001 to 1.56 million in 2015. China accounted for 52.2 percent of the total patent applications filed in 2015, followed by Japan with 14.6 percent, the U.S. with 10.4 percent and South Korea with 8.9 percent.