Each week, Verdict’s journalists analyse data on patent filings and grants that illustrate innovation trends in our sector. These patent signals show where the leading companies are focusing their research and development investment, and why. We uncover key innovation areas in the sector and the themes that drive them.
This new, thematic patents coverage is powered by our underlying Disruptor data which tracks all major deals, patents, company filings, hiring patterns and social media buzz across our sectors.
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Samsung has filed the highest volume of global technology patents from July 6 2022 to July 6 2023, according to research analyst GlobalData.
Globally, there were over 6.5 million technology patents published between 2017 and 2021, according to GlobalData. Over this five-year period, technology patent
publications have increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8%.
Cybersecurity and AI are the top two themes driving technology patents, followed by industrial automation, internet of things and ecommerce.
Patent publications have grown for all the top ten tech themes since 2017. Over this period, AI patent publications have grown the most at a CAGR of 42%.
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By GlobalDataSamsung, Huawei, IBM, Qualcomm, and LG have continued to rank the top five tech patent holders between 2017 and 2023.
Generating the highest volume of global technology patents is not without risk. In April 2023, Samsung was hit with a fine of more than $303m after a Texas jury found that the company violated five patents that US semiconductor manufacturing company Netlist held for data processing enhancement.
Competition within the semiconductor manufacturing has intensified as supply of semiconductors has become increasingly critical to the development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. In addition, Asia's dominance in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors has prompted global policy makers to review supply chain dynamics across different markets. Patents filed within the semiconductor sector reflect this shift in the geography of semiconductor supply and demand.
Until July 2022, China led the volume of patents published within the semiconductor industry, according to GlobalData. This is likely because of China's economic and public health situation, specifically the Covid-19 lockdowns and the associated costs for businesses, especially those making hardware. Though not as steep a decline, patents for semiconductors also saw reduced volumes in the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany in 2022.
