Patent Law News

USPTO Releases Annual List Of Top 10 Organizations Receiving Most U.S. Patents

In 2003, the U.S. companies included on the list of top 10 patenting organizations are International Business Machines Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company (fifth), Micron Technology, Inc. (sixth), and Intel Corporation (seventh). This year marks the first year that Intel Corporation appears on the top 10 list. Intel Corporation increased its number of patents 48 percent over 2002, and Hewlett-Packard Company increased its patent grants 27 percent over its 2002 count.

“The 2003 patent counts show American technological influence continuing to grow,” noted Jon Dudas, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. “Patents protect intellectual endeavors and encourage technological progress, helping to nurture industries that create jobs for Americans.”

The U.S. Government received 879 utility patents for the year, which would rank it 17th among the top patenting organizations for 2003.

Top 10 Private Sector Patent Recipients for the 2003 Calendar Year  Preliminary Rank in 2003* Preliminary
# Patents in 2003* Organization*  (Final Rank in 2002)  (Final Number of Patents in 2002)
1. 3,415 International Business Machines Corporation (1) (3,288)
2. 1,992 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (2) (1,893)
3. 1,893 Hitachi, Ltd. (5) (1,601)
4. 1,786 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (6) (1,544)
5. 1,759 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (9) (1,385)
6. 1,707 Micron Technology, Inc. (3) (1,833)
7. 1,592 Intel Corporation (15) (1,077)
8. 1,353 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (16) (842)
9. 1,313 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (11) (1328)
10. 1,311 Sony Corporation (7) (1,434)
         
  879 U.S. GOVERNMENT   (907)

*The patent counts are preliminary and are subject to correction. The final listing of patent counts for the top patenting organizations in 2003 will be available in the Patenting By Organizations report that should be available in early April.

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	Did You Know?
	There is a time limit on patent protection. For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees. Design patents last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. Note: Patents in force on June 8 and patents issued thereafter on applications filed prior to June 8, 1995 automatically have a term that is the greater of the twenty year term discussed above or seventeen years from the patent grant.