International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has once again been named the company with the most patents, according to a report by IFI Claims Patent Services.
As of 2021, the American technology company had received 8,682 patents. This is the 29th consecutive year IBM has been named the holder of the most patents.
IBM's number of patents surpasses Samsung. The South Korean company ranked second with 6,366 patents.
Canon Inc. came in third with a total of 3,021 patents, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) in fourth place with 2,798 patents.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines a patent as an exclusive right granted for an invention.
A patent is also defined as an exclusive right to a product or process that offers a new way of doing something, or a new technical solution to a problem.
These patents are crucial for securing research and development results and have the potential to provide future economic benefits.