Special Report
The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued more than 300,000 utility patents in 2018. Though anyone can apply for a patent, large corporations tend to receive the most — more than one-fourth of patents in 2018 went to just 50 companies. These companies and their employees worked to revolutionize their industries and stay one step ahead of the competition.
A patent is a legal declaration of intellectual property, giving owners rights and exclusivity to its idea. It also prevents others from using, imitating, or selling that idea. Some companies were awarded thousands of patents in the last year alone.
To identify the 50 most innovative companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 1,000 companies that received the most utility patent grants from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2018, according to data provided by IFI Claims Patent Services. We then ranked the 50 companies with the most patents granted.
Utility patents, which cover processes, items, machines, and other new and useful creations, are the most frequently awarded of the three types of patents. The other two are design patents, which protect visual characteristics, and plant patents, which cover to new species of plants.
Nearly all of the companies on the list primarily deal in electronics products such as semiconductors, computers, software, and telecommunications. There are also several well-known auto manufacturers like Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai that rank among the most innovative companies in the world.
IFI produces this data based on the entity listed as the patent holder, and that entity often is a division or subsidiary of the larger company. In order to arrive at a figure that more closely reflects a company’s total, 24/7 Wall St. totaled the grants awarded to a company and its subsidiaries. It is important to note that while IFI Claims Patent Services provided the data based on USPTO grants, 24/7 Wall St. aggregated the grants of multiple entities under the same parent corporation. This number is therefore an estimate as it excludes any patent-holding subsidiaries of a company that do not share the company’s name, and it does not include companies outside of the top 1,000 patent grantees.
Click here to see the most innovative companies.
Click here to read our detailed findings and methodology.
50. GlobalFoundries Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 635
> 2017 patent grants: 854
> Country: Cayman Islands
> Products: Semiconductors
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49. Sharp Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 643
> 2017 patent grants: 686
> Country: Japan
> Products: Televisions, home appliances, smartphones
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48. Fujifilm Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 658
> 2017 patent grants: 695
> Country: Japan
> Products: Cameras, industrial products, medical systems
47. Dell Products LP
> 2018 patent grants: 668
> 2017 patent grants: 623
> Country: USA
> Products: Computers, servers, printers, software
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46. Oracle
> 2018 patent grants: 703
> 2017 patent grants: 767
> Country: USA
> Products: Database software and cloud storage systems
45. NEC Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 715
> 2017 patent grants: 819
> Country: Japan
> Products: IT and communications services
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44. Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 743
> 2017 patent grants: 566
> Country: Japan
> Products: Electronics, sensors, energy devices
43. Honeywell International Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 749
> 2017 patent grants: 856
> Country: USA
> Products: Consumer products, aerospace engineering
42. Texas Instruments Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 785
> 2017 patent grants: 923
> Country: USA
> Products: Semiconductors, educational technology
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40. EMC IP Holding Co LLC
> 2018 patent grants: 801
> 2017 patent grants: 645
> Country: USA
> Products: Electrical equipment
40. SK Hynix Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 801
> 2017 patent grants: 942
> Country: South Korea
> Products: Semiconductors, memory chips
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39. Halliburton Energy Services Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 807
> 2017 patent grants: 738
> Country: USA
> Products: Oilfield services
38. Koninklijke Philips NV
> 2018 patent grants: 844
> 2017 patent grants: 905
> Country: Netherlands
> Products: Lighting, televisions, personal health products
37. Cisco Technology Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 848
> 2017 patent grants: 967
> Country: USA
> Products: Software, routers, internet security
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35. Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 870
> 2017 patent grants: 973
> Country: Japan
> Products: Semiconductors
35. Siemens AG
> 2018 patent grants: 870
> 2017 patent grants: 939
> Country: Germany
> Products: Home appliances, automation systems, healthcare technology
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34. Micron Technology Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 924
> 2017 patent grants: 802
> Country: USA
> Products: Computer accessories and storage
33. Honda Motor Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 926
> 2017 patent grants: 910
> Country: Japan
> Products: Automobiles
32. Hewlett Packard
> 2018 patent grants: 972
> 2017 patent grants: 981
> Country: USA
> Products: Computers, printers, information technology
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31. AT&T Intellectual Property I LP
> 2018 patent grants: 985
> 2017 patent grants: 946
> Country: USA
> Products: Telecommunications, entertainment, technology
30. Denso Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 1,003
> 2017 patent grants: 929
> Country: Japan
> Products: Auto parts
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29. United Technologies Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 1,011
> 2017 patent grants: 494
> Country: USA
> Products: Elevators, aerospace, security
28. Fujitsu Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 1,038
> 2017 patent grants: 1,538
> Country: Japan
> Products: Semiconductors, operating systems, computer storage
27. Ricoh Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 1,043
> 2017 patent grants: 1,145
> Country: Japan
> Products: Printers, cameras, watches, IT services
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26. GM Global Technology Operations LLC
> 2018 patent grants: 1,046
> 2017 patent grants: 1,065
> Country: USA
> Products: Automobiles
25. Mitsubishi Electric Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 1,106
> 2017 patent grants: 1,150
> Country: Japan
> Products: Automobiles, air conditioners, power generation systems
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24. Robert Bosch GmbH
> 2018 patent grants: 1,136
> 2017 patent grants: 1,234
> Country: Germany
> Products: Industrial technology, consumer electronics
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23. Boeing Co
> 2018 patent grants: 1,227
> 2017 patent grants: 1,177
> Country: USA
> Products: Aerospace and military technology
22. Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 1,254
> 2017 patent grants: 1,338
> Country: Japan
> Products: Cameras, home appliances, televisions
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21. Seiko Epson Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 1,285
> 2017 patent grants: 1,406
> Country: Japan
> Products: Printers, projectors, wearable products
20. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
> 2018 patent grants: 1,353
> 2017 patent grants: 1,551
> Country: Sweden
> Products: IT services, public safety management, electronic components
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19. Hyundai Motor Co
> 2018 patent grants: 1,369
> 2017 patent grants: 1,303
> Country: South Korea
> Products: Automobiles
18. BoE Technology Group Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 1,634
> 2017 patent grants: 1,413
> Country: China
> Products: Data collection and processing
17. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 1,680
> 2017 patent grants: 1,474
> Country: China
> Products: Mobile phones, tablets, routers, IT infrastructure
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16. General Electric
> 2018 patent grants: 1,716
> 2017 patent grants: 1,740
> Country: USA
> Products: Home appliances, jet engines, commercial lending
15. Amazon Technologies Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 2,035
> 2017 patent grants: 1,962
> Country: USA
> Products: Consumer products, e-readers, TV and movie streaming
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14. Ford Global Technologies LLC
> 2018 patent grants: 2,123
> 2017 patent grants: 1,868
> Country: USA
> Products: Automobiles
13. Apple Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 2,160
> 2017 patent grants: 2,226
> Country: USA
> Products: Mobile phones, computers, tablets, software
12. Sony
> 2018 patent grants: 2,165
> 2017 patent grants: 2,672
> Country: Japan
> Products: Digital cameras, televisions, speakers, mobile phones
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11. Google
> 2018 patent grants: 2,197
> 2017 patent grants: 2,706
> Country: USA
> Products: Search engine, internet browser, laptops
10. Toshiba
> 2018 patent grants: 2,201
> 2017 patent grants: 2,032
> Country: Japan
> Products: Laptops, hard drives, digital displays, business solutions
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9. Qualcomm Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 2,300
> 2017 patent grants: 2,626
> Country: USA
> Products: Semiconductors, cellular modems, telecommunications equipment
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8. Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
> 2018 patent grants: 2,353
> 2017 patent grants: 2,441
> Country: USA
> Products: Software, operating systems, mobile phones
7. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Ltd
> 2018 patent grants: 2,465
> 2017 patent grants: 2,424
> Country: Taiwan
> Products: Semiconductors
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6. Toyota
> 2018 patent grants: 2,476
> 2017 patent grants: 2,441
> Country: Japan
> Products: Automobiles, automobile accessories
5. Canon Inc
> 2018 patent grants: 3,056
> 2017 patent grants: 3,284
> Country: Japan
> Products: Cameras, camcorders, printers
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4. Intel
> 2018 patent grants: 3,322
> 2017 patent grants: 3,537
> Country: USA
> Products: Personal computers, consumer electronics, processors
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3. LG
> 2018 patent grants: 4,198
> 2017 patent grants: 4,465
> Country: South Korea
> Products: Mobile phones, televisions, home appliances
2. Samsung
> 2018 patent grants: 8,568
> 2017 patent grants: 8,880
> Country: South Korea
> Products: Mobile phones, televisions, home appliances
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1. International Business Machines Corp
> 2018 patent grants: 9,100
> 2017 patent grants: 9,043
> Country: USA
> Products: Data management, IT services, application development
Detailed Findings
2017 was a record year for patents, with the USPTO issuing just over 320,000 patents, an all-time high. This year, the USPTO issued 308,853 patents, a 3.5% decline from last year. Yet this is still much higher than it was a decade ago. In 2009, there were less than 168,000 patents awarded. In each of the past five years, around 300,000 patents were awarded.
According to IFI Claims senior analyst Larry Cady, “Most of the growth can be attributed to the electronics industry, particularly computers and telecommunications.” As smartphones, computers, and other high tech devices have taken over the consumer marketplace, they have also “overwhelmed other areas like pharmaceuticals, chemicals and manufacturing … and other traditional industries,” Cady said.
Over 145,000 of the new utility patents filed in 2018 were in just five electronics categories: electrical digital data processing, transmission of digital information, semiconductors, wireless communication networks, and pictorial communication.
American companies occupy the most spots among the 50 most innovative companies, at 22. Japan has the second most companies, with 16. There are also four South Korean companies among the to 50 patent recipients.
Methodology
To identify the 50 most innovative companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 1,000 companies that received the most patent grants from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2018, according to data provided by IFI Claims Patent Services. We then ranked the 50 companies with the most patents granted. IFI produces this data based on the entity listed as the patent holder, and that entity often is a division or subsidiary of the larger company. In order to arrive at a figure that more closely reflects a company’s total, 24/7 Wall St. totaled the grants awarded to a company and its subsidiaries. It is important to note that while IFI Claims Patent Services provided the data based on USPTO grants, 24/7 Wall St. aggregated the grants of multiple entities under the same parent corporation. This number is therefore an estimate as it excludes any patent-holding subsidiaries of a company that do not share the company’s name, and it does not include companies outside of the top 1,000 patent grantees.
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