IBM Tops U.S. Patent List for 20th Consecutive Year

ARMONK, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it received a record 6,478 patents in 2012 for inventions that will enable fundamental advancements across key domains including analytics, Big Data, cybersecurity, cloud, mobile, social networking and software defined environments, as well as industry solutions for retail, banking, healthcare, and transportation. These patented inventions also will advance a major shift in computing, known as the era of cognitive systems.

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This is the 20th consecutive year that IBM topped the annual list of U.S. patent recipients.

"We are proud of this new benchmark in technological and scientific creativity, which grows out of IBM's century-long commitment to research and development," said Ginni Rometty, chairman and CEO, IBM. "Most concretely, our 2012 patent record and the two decades of leadership it extends are a testament to thousands of brilliant IBM inventors -- the living embodiments of our devotion to innovation that matters, for our clients, for our company and for the world."

IBM's record-setting 2012 patent tally was made possible by more than 8,000 IBM inventors residing in 46 different U.S. states and 35 countries. IBM inventors residing outside the U.S. contributed to nearly 30% of the company's 2012 U.S. patent output.

From 1993-2012, IBM inventors received nearly 67,000 U.S. patents. The company's 2012 patent count exceeded the combined totals of Accenture, Amazon, Apple, EMC, HP, Intel, Oracle/SUN and Symantec.

The Top Ten list of 2012 U.S. patent recipients* includes:

    1            IBM                                       6,478
    2            Samsung                                   5,081
    3            Canon                                     3,174
    4            Sony                                      3,032
    5            Panasonic                                 2,769
    6            Microsoft                                 2,613
    7            Toshiba                                   2,447
    8            Hon Hai                                   2,013
    9            General Electric                          1,652
    10           LG Electronics                            1,624

*Data provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services

IBM's record 2012 patent output featured inventions that are reshaping how companies are applying technology in today's world of a Smarter Planet and those that are laying the groundwork for the new era of cognitive systems:

    --  U.S. Patent #8,275,803: System and method for providing answers to
        questions - This patented invention was implemented in the IBM Watson
        system and describes a technique that enables a computer to take a
        question expressed in natural language, understand it in detail, and
        deliver a precise answer to the question.
    --  U.S. Patent #8,250,010: Electronic learning synapse with spike-timing
        dependent plasticity using unipolar memory-switching elements - This
        patent relates to algorithms and circuits for efficiently mimicking the
        learning function of a brain's synapses and lays the foundation for a
        non-von Neumann computer architecture.  IBM is working on a cognitive
        computing project called Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic
        Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE), which aims to emulate the brain's
        abilities for perception, action and cognition while consuming orders of
        magnitude less power and volume without being programmed.
    --  U.S. Patent #8185480: System and method for optimizing pattern
        recognition of non-gaussian parameters - This patent describes a
        technique for dealing with and recognizing patterns in fast growing,
        large data sets of complex information, such as  understanding of spoken
        phrases or processing satellite data to predict locations of traffic
        jams.
    --  U.S. Patent         #8,200,501: Methods, systems and computer program
        products for synthesizing medical procedure information in healthcare
        databases - This invention describes a technique that enables medical
        professionals to more efficiently access and analyze medical data and
        records stored in multiple disparate data sources, improving their
        ability to research, diagnose and treat medical conditions.
    --  U.S. Patent #s         8,291,378: Simplified deployment modeling  &
        8,332,873: Dynamic application instance placement in data center
        environments - These patented inventions describe a Software Defined
        Environment composed of a modeling platform to define application
        components with their requirements and characteristics, and an
        intelligent orchestration system to dynamically deploy, update and
        manage workloads. The inventions enable the IBM PureSystems family of
        products to use repeatable patterns for faster deployment and optimized
        workload lifecycle management.
    --  U.S.         Patent #8,341,441: Reducing energy consumption in a cloud
        computing environment - This patented invention describes a technique
        that enables more efficient and effective use of cloud computing
        resources, thereby reducing and minimizing energy consumption.
    --  U.S. Patent         #8,247,261: Thin substrate fabrication using
        stress-induced substrate spalling - This patent describes a low-cost
        method for manufacturing a new class of flexible semiconductor materials
        that will enable ultra-thin, lightweight and flexible products and can
        be applied to a wide range of technologies such as biomedical, security,
        wearable computing and solid-state lighting.
    --  U.S. Patent #         8,302,173: Providing a user device with a set of
        access codes - This invention provides a method to validate and retrieve
        one or several security codes --valid for only a very short period of
        time to enhance system security-- via a mobile network (SMS, for
        example) and a separately encrypted channel from a secure server, for
        example, to complete a secure transaction or perform secure login
        operations via a mobile phone.

Examples of other interesting and important patented inventions from IBM's record-breaking 2012 patent output can be found at: http://ibm.co/WreuUl.

For more information about IBM's patent and innovation leadership, please see the IBM 20 Years of Patent Leadership press kit and Patent Leadership social media Tumblr http://ibmblr.tumblr.com/.

Follow IBM's patent news on Twitter at #think20 & #innovation.

CONTACT:
Chris Andrews
914-499-4045
candrews@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM