IBM received a record 7534 patents in 2014; the 22nd consecutive year it has topped the annual list of US patent recipients. During this time, it has amassed more than 81,500 US patents.
"IBM's continued investment in research and development is key to driving the transformation of our company, as we look to capture the emerging opportunities represented by cloud, big data and analytics, security, social and mobile," said IBM boss Ginni Rometty. "IBM's patent leadership over more than two decades demonstrates our enduring commitment to the kind of fundamental R&D that can solve the most daunting challenges facing our clients and the world."
On average, IBM won more than 20 patents per day in 2014 and became the first company to be awarded more than 7000 patents in a year. More than 3000 patents addressed cloud computing, analytics, mobile, social and security inventions. IBM also received more than 500 patents for inventions relating to cognitive systems.
The effort was contributed to by 8500 researchers in 43 countries, with operations outside of the US contributing to more than 34% of the 2014 patents.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk