IBM secured record 8,000 patents in 2016

IBM had once again proved its dominance in earning patents, as it closed the year with 8,088 US patents granted to its inventors in 2016. That was the 24th consecutive year that the company had earned the most patents of any company.

The second-ranked company, Samsung, had 5,518 US patents granted. About 2,700 of IBM's 2016 patents covered inventions related to artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, and cloud computing. IBM's diverse range of technologies also included cybersecurity and cognitive health.

IBM inventors were granted over 22 patents per day in 2016, which made the company the first to claim over 8,000 patents in a single year.

''Leading the world in innovation for 24 years in a row is a result of IBM's unmatched commitment to innovation and R&D–reflected in this year's new U.S. patent record, breaking the 8,000 barrier for the first time,'' said Ginni Rometty, IBM's CEO, in a statement. ''We are deeply proud of our inventors' unique contributions to discovery, science and technology that are driving progress across business and society and opening the new era of cognitive business.''

IBM inventors who numbered 8,500 were responsible for IBM's record-setting 2016 patent tally. IBM's New York-based inventors were awarded over  2,700 patents, while IBMers based in California and Texas were granted over 1,000 patents each.

Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc was fast becoming a force to reckon with in the world of patents, www.investopedia.com reported.

The latest data released by the IFI Claims Office revealed that the Seattle company's patent count rose by 46 per cent and it was the biggest gainer in terms of number of utility patents filed with the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO).

With 1,662 patents granted in 2016, it ranked fourteenth in the list of companies with most patents. Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp were the other US companies that showed gains in their patent portfolio and were ranked seventh and ninth respectively in the list.