Apple was awarded just over 2,000 patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2014, according to data compiled by IFI Claims Patent Services. That amount is good for a 13% boost over 2013, and enough to rank it #11 among top patent recipients for the year.
A total of 19 US-based companies appear on the 2014 IFI Claims Top 50 list. IBM finished in first, with 7,534 patents awarded in 2014, keeping its 22-year streak alive. Samsung came in second with just under 5000 patents, followed by Canon, Sony and Microsoft.
Also worth noting from IFI’s list is Google’s jump to the top 10 for the first time ever, thanks to a surge in awarded patents last year of nearly 40%. Facebook’s leap was even more astounding, up 120% over 2013, reaffirming that innovation is alive and well in Menlo Park.
But despite the rise in interest in intellectual property, patent-related litigation appears to be on the decline between the tech giants. Apple has agreed to settle disputes with both Samsung and Google, and its Rockstar Consortium is putting an end to most of its lawsuits.
Source: IFI Claims via AppleInsider