Visualization of companies with the most issued patents in 2021

The briefing

• In 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a total of 327,798 useful patents.
• For almost three decades, IBM has received more patents each year than any other company in the United States

Visualization of companies with the most issued patents in 2021

Companies around the world are investing billions in research and development to deliver cutting-edge innovation for their products and services. To protect these investments, companies apply for patents. Therefore, the number of utility patents a company provides can be considered a rough measure of its level of innovation.

Each year, Patent List 300 identifies the most innovative U.S. intellectual property companies by analyzing patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

In 2021, the USPTO granted a total of 327,798 utility patents, down 7% from the previous year. Let’s take a look at which companies have generated the most patents in 2021.

RankCountryCompany / Organization2021 Patents Change from 2020 1🇺🇸 USInternational Business Machines Corporation8,540-9% 2🇰🇷 South KoreaSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.8,5170% 3🇰🇷% 🇰🇷% 🇰🇷% Japan84🇵 K14C3448 K Corporation – 8% 5🇨🇳 ChinaHuawei Technologies Co., Ltd.2,955-7% 6🇺🇸 USIntel Corporation2,835-14% 7🇹🇼 TaiwanTaiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd.2,807-3% Kyoto🇺 -2% 9🇺🇸 USRaytheon Technologies Corporation2,694-16% 10🇯🇵 JapanSony Corporation2,624-9%

For 29 consecutive years, IBM has led US companies in the number of patents received annually. In 2021, the company received 8,540 patents, a decrease of 9% over the previous year.

IBM’s innovation is focused on addressing major global challenges and covers areas such as sustainable growth, climate change and preventing future pandemics, as well as initiatives to ensure food and energy security. They aim to address these issues through a combination of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.

One of IBM’s most notable innovations in 2021 was their new quantum processor called Eagle, which broke the 100-qubit barrier to take quantum computing into a new era. This processor has the ability to solve problems that classic computers can not, giving it the potential to bring benefits in the real world in various fields from renewable energy to finance and more.

Samsung: Close second innovator

Samsung Electronics is one of the biggest innovators in the last decade. In 2021, the company received 8,517 patents granted by the USPTO, close to second only to IBM.

The company’s patented innovations are implemented in several areas, including virtual and augmented reality (VR / AR), artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI / ML), 5G technology and autonomous driving.

The technology sector dominates utility patents

Not surprisingly, of the top 25 companies with the most patents issued in 2021, 16 belong to the technology sector.

However, patents for useful services are not limited to technology companies.

In fact, companies from all sectors apply for patents every year. Patents are great assets for companies because they give them exclusive commercial rights to their inventions and protect them from competition. This is one of the main reasons we see companies receiving thousands of new patents every year.