Most Inventive Companies of 2019 Based on Patent Activity
January 13, 2020Sqoop has been collecting U.S. patent data for journalists and other information professionals since 2014, and twice before we’ve published annual rankings of the companies that have applied for or have been granted utility patents and also companies that have received design patents.
Before getting to the rankings, it’s worth a reminder about how our methodology is different from, and we think more accurate than, the lists published by others. In short, Sqoop takes the extra step of combining subsidiaries under a common parent. For example, Ford Global Technologies, LLC is included with Ford Motor Company for Ford’s ranking. Without, including subsidiaries, you wouldn’t get an apples-to-apples comparison with other companies, like IBM, that make applications under one unified brand.
Seems like common sense, but if you’re interested in learning more about this methodology, including endorsements of our approach from a Stanford Law professor and the managing partner of ComputerLaw, we have all that detailed in our 2016 blog post.
Trying to get a macro perspective by comparing 2019 to 2016, the last time we published rankings, utility patent grants (B1 and B2) are up 17 percent, while applications were only up 3.7 percent. Most notably, design patents are up 21 percent. Design patents include product and packaging designs, like Nike shoes. Some other observations:
- As with our earlier rankings, Samsung (including its subsidiaries as discussed above) is number one in all lists.
- IBM remains second, with LG and Canon consistently in the top 5.
- While it’s fun to look at who’s number one and who’s number two, it is remarkable in the cases of both Samsung and IBM that they were granted more than 9,000 patents a piece–more than 175 each per week! The next closest is LG with nearly 5,000.
- Microsoft moves up from 10 to 6, the highest ranking for the Redmond, Wash. giant since we’ve been keeping score.
- Google/Alphabet remain in the top ten, but what’s more interesting is the hundreds of patents filed by subsidiaries we don’t hear much about, including X Development LLC., and Verily Life Sciences LLC.
- Ford jumps into the top 10, the only auto maker to do so
The utility applications list is similar, the notable outlier being Huawei, which ranked number 6 for the number of applications filed.
For design patents:
-
Jaguar Land Rover moved from 30th place to number 5, perhaps the most notable jump.
-
Nike more than doubled the number of design patents it received last year compared to 2016, from 275 to 560.
Now the official Sqoop rankings.
Utility Patent Grants (B1, B2)
1 | Samsung1 | 9,413 |
2 | International Business Machines Corporation | 9,190 |
3 | LG2 | 4,938 |
4 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | 3,565 |
5 | Intel3 | 3,501 |
6 | Microsoft4 | 3,095 |
7 | Toshiba5 | 2,763 |
8 | Sony6 | 2,757 |
9 | Google/Alphabet7 | 2,665 |
10 | Ford8 | 2,507 |
11 | Apple Inc. | 2,497 |
12 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | 2,421 |
13 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 2,421 |
14 | Qualcomm9 | 2,352 |
15 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | 2,259 |
16 | Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd. | 2,172 |
17 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | 2,061 |
18 | Panasonic10 | 1,916 |
19 | General Electric Company | 1,813 |
20 | Hewlett-Packard11 | 1,540 |
21 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 1,515 |
22 | Hyundai Motor Company | 1,498 |
23 | AT&T12 | 1,414 |
24 | The Boeing Company | 1,381 |
25 | Seiko Epson Corporation | 1,345 |
26 | Micron Technology, Inc. | 1,273 |
27 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC. | 1,271 |
28 | United Technologies Corporation | 1,247 |
29 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | 1,234 |
30 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 1,102 |
31 | Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. | 1,081 |
32 | Denso Corporation | 1,054 |
33 | Cisco Technology, Inc. | 1,047 |
34 | Fujitsu Limited | 1,011 |
35 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | 1,006 |
36 | Facebook, Inc. | 996 |
37 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | 981 |
38 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 940 |
39 | NeC Corporation | 930 |
40 | EMC Ip Holding Company LLC | 918 |
Utility Patent Applications (A1)
1 | Samsung13 | 8,668 |
2 | International Business Machines Corporation | 8,292 |
3 | LG14 | 4,952 |
4 | Intel15 | 4,730 |
5 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | 3,424 |
6 | Huawei Technologies Co.,Ltd. | 3,289 |
7 | Sony16 | 3,036 |
8 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | 2,947 |
9 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 2,718 |
10 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 2,642 |
11 | Microsoft Technology Licensing,LLC | 2,640 |
12 | Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd. | 2,450 |
13 | Toshiba17 | 2,444 |
14 | Panasonic18 | 2,338 |
15 | Ford19 | 2,319 |
16 | Google/Alphabet20 | 2,100 |
17 | Apple Inc. | 2,078 |
18 | Micron Technology,Inc. | 1,656 |
19 | General Electric Company | 1,647 |
20 | Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. | 1,618 |
21 | Hewlett-Packard21 | 1,594 |
22 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | 1,503 |
23 | Seiko Epson Corporation | 1,455 |
24 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 1,452 |
25 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | 1,450 |
26 | Hyundai Motor Company | 1,414 |
27 | Kia Motors Corporation | 1,405 |
28 | Denso Corporation | 1,368 |
29 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC. | 1,229 |
30 | The Boeing Company | 1,204 |
31 | Fujitsu Limited | 1,164 |
32 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 1,062 |
33 | AT&T22 | 1,057 |
34 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 1,044 |
35 | NEC Corporation | 1,029 |
36 | Fujifilm Corporation | 1,026 |
37 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | 1,020 |
38 | SK Hynix Inc. | 1,016 |
39 | Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 964 |
40 | The Regents Of The University Of California | 916 |
Design Patents (S1)
1 | Samsung23 | 605 |
2 | Nike, Inc. | 560 |
3 | LG24 | 483 |
4 | Apple Inc. | 315 |
5 | Jaguar Land Rover Limited | 290 |
6 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 281 |
7 | DELTA FAUCET COMPANY | 196 |
8 | Google/Alphabet25 | 190 |
9 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft | 184 |
10 | Ford Global Technologies, LLC | 154 |
11 | SPIGEN KOREA CO., LTD. | 153 |
12 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 101 |
13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | 99 |
14 | Dyson Technology Limited | 93 |
15 | Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | 91 |
16 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | 89 |
17 | Kohler Co. | 87 |
18 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 87 |
19 | The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company | 84 |
20 | The Procter & Gamble Company | 80 |
21 | YETI Coolers, LLC | 78 |
22 | TOMY COMPANY, LTD. | 78 |
23 | Hyundai Motor Company | 75 |
24 | Kia Motors Corporation | 74 |
25 | FUJIFILM Corporation | 73 |
26 | SMC Corporation | 68 |
27 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. | 67 |
28 | Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha | 62 |
29 | Sony26 | 59 |
30 | Harman International Industries, Incorporated | 56 |
31 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 56 |
32 | Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. | 56 |
33 | Whirlpool Corporation | 55 |
34 | Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft | 55 |
35 | Facebook, Inc. | 54 |
36 | Black & Decker Inc. | 54 |
37 | Contemporary Visions, LLC | 51 |
38 | Target Brands, Inc. | 51 |
39 | FCA US LLC | 49 |
40 | Helen of Troy Limited | 48 |
-
Includes Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Samsung Display Co., Ltd.; Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.; Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.; Samsung Medison Co., Ltd.; SAMSUNG SDS CO., LTD.; Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation; Samsung Heavy Ind. Co., Ltd. ↩
-
Includes LG Electronics Inc.; LG Display Co., Ltd.; LG Chem, Ltd.; LG Innotek Co., Ltd.; LG Hausys, Ltd.; LG CNS Co., Ltd.; LG FUEL CELL SYSTEMS INC.; LG Electronics; LG Household & Health Care Ltd.; ↩
-
Includes Intel Corporation; Intel IP Corporation; Intel Deutschland GmbH. ↩
-
Includes Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC.; Microsoft Licensing Technology, LLC. ↩
-
Includes Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba; Toshiba Memory Corporation; Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha; Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation; Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation; Toshiba-Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation; Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd.; Toshiba Client Solutions Co., Ltd.; Toshiba Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services Corporation; Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha; Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation; Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation; Toshiba International Corporation; Toshiba Hokuto Electronics Corporation; Toshiba Industrial Products and Systems Corp.; Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation. ↩
-
Includes Sony Corporation; Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.; Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation; Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC; Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC; Sony Mobile Communications Inc.; Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc.; Sony Europe Limited; Sony Corporation of America; Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited; SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC.; Sony Depthsensing Solutions SA/NV; SONY MEDIA CLOUD SERVICES LLC. ↩
-
Includes Google LLC; X Development LLC; Waymo LLC; Verily Life Sciences LLC; Google Technology Holdings LLC; Loon LLC; Wing Aviation LLC; DeepMind Technologies Limited; Makani Technologies LLC; Google Inc. ↩
-
Includes Ford Global Technologies,LLC; Ford Motor Company. ↩
-
Includes Qualcomm Incorporated; Qualcomm Technologies, Incorporated. ↩
-
Includes Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.; Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America; Panasonic Corporation; Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America; PANASONIC ECOLOGY SYSTEMS GUANGDONG CO., LTD.; PANASONIC APPLIANCES REFRIGERATION DEVICES SINGAPORE. ↩
-
Includes Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Development LP; Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. ↩
-
Includes AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.; AT&T Mobility II LLC; AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P. ↩
-
Includes Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd.; Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.; Samsung Display Co.,Ltd; SAMSUNG SDS CO., LTD.; Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.; Samsung Medison Co., Ltd.; Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation; Samsung Electronics., Ltd. ↩
-
Includes LG Electronics Inc.; LG Chem, Ltd.; LG Innotek Co., Ltd.; LG Display Co., Ltd.; LG Household & Health Care Ltd.; LG Hausys, Ltd.; LG Fuel Cell Systems, Inc. ↩
-
Includes Intel Corporation; Intel IP Corporation. ↩
-
Includes Sony Corporation; Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation; Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC; Sony Mobile Communications Inc.; Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC; Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc.; Sony Corporation of America; Sony Depthsensing Solutions SA/NV; Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited; Sony Europe Limited; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. ↩
-
Includes Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services Corporation; Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba; Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha; Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd.; Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Memory Corporation; Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation; Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation; Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation; Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation; Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha; Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation; Toshiba International Corporation; Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation; Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation; Toshiba Hokuto Electronics Corporation; Toshiba Industrial Products and Systems Corporation; Toshiba Client Solutions Co., LTD. ↩
-
Includes Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co.,Ltd; Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.; Panasonic Corporation; Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation Of America; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Panasonic Automotive Systems Company Of America; PANASONIC INDUSTRIAL DEVICES SUNX CO., LTD. ↩
-
Includes Ford Global Technologies, LLC.; Ford Motor Company. ↩
-
Includes Verily Life Sciences LLC; X Development LLC; Google LLC.; Waymo LLC.; Google Inc.; DeepMind Technologies Limited; Google Technology Holdings LLC; Wing Aviation LLC; Loon LLC. ↩
-
Includes Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. ↩
-
Includes AT&T Intellectual Property I.L.P.; AT&T Mobility II LLC.; AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P. ↩
-
Includes Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Samsung Display Co., Ltd. ↩
-
Includes LG Electronics Inc.; LG Display Co., Ltd.; LG HOUSEHOLD & HEALTH CARE LTD. ↩
-
Includes Google LLC; Waymo LLC. ↩
-
Includes SONY CORPORATION; SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC. ↩