Apple doubles US patents in 2010 to reach 46th place
updated 09:45 am EST, Tue January 11, 2011
IBM, Samsung, Microsoft take top spots
Apple successfully won 563 patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office during 2010, says IFI Claims Patent Services. The number is roughly double the 289 seized by Apple in 2009, and has allowed the company to crack the top 50 businesses with a rank of 46th. Most of the patents awarded were originally submitted by Apple in 2004 or 2005, meaning that the company's position could rise still further in coming years as patents are granted for an expanding range of technology.
The top company on the 2010 list was IBM, which took home 5,896 patents, also becoming the first to surpass the 5,000-patent barrier. It has held top place for 18 years in a row. Second place in 2010 was Samsung, followed by Microsoft, the latter of which scored 3,094 patents.
Some other technology businesses in the top 10 include Toshiba in sixth, Sony in seventh, Intel in eighth and HP in tenth. The latter two secured 1,653 and 1,480 patents, respectively.
Critical Apple patents awarded during the year covered topics like multi-touch, illustrating inventions essential for products like the iPhone.
