2020年全球专利排行榜：IBM稳居第一，华为第九
全球领先的专利数据库提供商IFI日前公布的数据显示：2020年，IBM以9130项专利继续稳居专利排行榜第一名，紧随其后的依次是三星电子、佳能和微软，苹果和英特尔分别排在第八位和第五位。
虽然2020年的专利授权量较2019年创纪录的354,428项略有下降，但已公布专利申请数量呈上升趋势，这表明知识产权仍然是当今社会的热点。似乎新冠疫情也并未立刻对专利申请造成影响，然而，现在下定论还为时尚早，因为新的专利申请要到18个月后才会公布。
IFI的研究还包括了专利增长最快的十大新技术。其中一些技术在2016至2020年间一直位列前茅，例如：与机器学习和量子计算等热门领域相关的专利今年就分别排在第四位和第五位，这样的结果也在人们意料之中。
令人意外的是“电子吸烟装置”排在了第二位，其中包括了各种各样的蒸汽电子烟专利，并且大多为烟草巨头奥驰亚（Altria）和菲利普-莫里斯（Philip Morris）所持有。
从美国专利商标局已分配的专利编号来看，“基于生物模型的计算机系统”是整体上增长最快的技术。去年，IBM在这该领域获得了2789项专利，几乎涵盖了与所谓的神经网络和其他模拟大脑功能技术相关的各种发明。IBM和微软此类专利的示例如下：
据IFI介绍，专利增长速度排名第三位的是“被子植物——新开花专利”，由孟山都和其他农业公司主导。
虽然专利往往与创新有关，但也可能引发争议。近年来，批评人士声称，美国专利商标局一直在颁发专利，但这些专利的保护力度过于薄弱，从而让“专利流氓”有机可乘。这些投机公司除了发起专利侵权诉讼，要求获得技术许可的公司支付费用外，什么也不做。在过去的十年里，这类专利侵权问题，以及专利有效性相关问题，已经成为最高法院众多判决的主题。
2020年全球专利排行榜（TOP20）：
（财富中文网）
译者：梁宇
审校：夏林
全球领先的专利数据库提供商IFI日前公布的数据显示：2020年，IBM以9130项专利继续稳居专利排行榜第一名，紧随其后的依次是三星电子、佳能和微软，苹果和英特尔分别排在第八位和第五位。
虽然2020年的专利授权量较2019年创纪录的354,428项略有下降，但已公布专利申请数量呈上升趋势，这表明知识产权仍然是当今社会的热点。似乎新冠疫情也并未立刻对专利申请造成影响，然而，现在下定论还为时尚早，因为新的专利申请要到18个月后才会公布。
IFI的研究还包括了专利增长最快的十大新技术。其中一些技术在2016至2020年间一直位列前茅，例如：与机器学习和量子计算等热门领域相关的专利今年就分别排在第四位和第五位，这样的结果也在人们意料之中。
令人意外的是“电子吸烟装置”排在了第二位，其中包括了各种各样的蒸汽电子烟专利，并且大多为烟草巨头奥驰亚（Altria）和菲利普-莫里斯（Philip Morris）所持有。
从美国专利商标局已分配的专利编号来看，“基于生物模型的计算机系统”是整体上增长最快的技术。去年，IBM在这该领域获得了2789项专利，几乎涵盖了与所谓的神经网络和其他模拟大脑功能技术相关的各种发明。IBM和微软此类专利的示例如下：
据IFI介绍，专利增长速度排名第三位的是“被子植物——新开花专利”，由孟山都和其他农业公司主导。
虽然专利往往与创新有关，但也可能引发争议。近年来，批评人士声称，美国专利商标局一直在颁发专利，但这些专利的保护力度过于薄弱，从而让“专利流氓”有机可乘。这些投机公司除了发起专利侵权诉讼，要求获得技术许可的公司支付费用外，什么也不做。在过去的十年里，这类专利侵权问题，以及专利有效性相关问题，已经成为最高法院众多判决的主题。
2020年全球专利排行榜（TOP20）：
（财富中文网）
译者：梁宇
审校：夏林
IBM held its longtime place as the top recipient of U.S. patents in 2020 with 9,130 inventions, followed by Samsung, Canon, and Microsoft. Others in the top 10 include Apple and Intel, according to research firm IFI.
While the total number of issued patents dropped slightly from a record of 354,428 in 2019, published patent applications ticked upward, suggesting intellectual property remains as hot a commodity as ever. The pandemic does not appear to have had an immediate effect on patent volume—though it’s too soon to know for sure as new patent applications are only published after 18 months.
IFI’s research also includes a section on the top 10 fastest-growing new technologies that appear in patent applications. Some of the results, which cover 2016 to 2020, are not surprising: Patents related to the buzzy fields of machine learning and quantum computing account for the No. 4 and No. 5 slots, respectively.
More surprising is the second fastest-growing category, “electronic smoking devices,” which comprises a variety of vaping patents, most of which were obtained by tobacco giants Altria and Philip Morris.
The fastest-growing category overall, which is determined by codes assigned by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is one titled “computer systems based on biological models.” The category, for which IBM received 2,789 patents last year, appears to span a wide variety of inventions related to so-called neural networks and other techniques that imitate brain functions. Two examples of such patents, issued to IBM and Microsoft, are described below:
The third fastest-growing category of patented new technology is titled “angiosperms—new flowering patents” and is dominated by Monsanto and other agricultural firms, according to IFI.
While patents are often associated with innovation, they can also prove controversial. In recent years, critics have claimed the U.S. patent office has been issuing patents that are too weak and can thus fall into the hands of so-called patent trolls—firms that don’t produce anything but make a business of demanding payments from companies that do in order to license their technology. The issue, as well as related ones involving patent validity, has been the subject of numerous Supreme Court decisions in the past decade.
Here is a list of the top 20 patent recipients for 2020, including the number of patents they have received.
