According to the data compiled by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Microsoft was awarded 2,398 patents in 2016 in the US. Microsoft was ranked No.8 in the list, an improvement of two ranks from the last year’s list. It is important to note that Microsoft was in the top five list a few years back. Hopefully, their recent change in strategy around Microsoft Research won’t affect their patent numbers in the future.
IBM was once again on top of the list as they earned a total of 8,088 U.S. patents last year at a rate of 22 patents per day, beating its next closest(Samsung) by more than 2,500 U.S. patents. Also, IBM has become the first company to receive more than 8,000 U.S. patents in one year.
