Five Companies From Greater China Rank Among Top 50 U.S. Patent Assignees in 2021

According to authoritative patent data released on Monday by IFI Claims, five enterprises from Greater China have entered into the list of top 50 U.S. Patent Assignees in 2021. Among them, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) ranked fourth, Huawei ranked fifth, BOE ranked 11th, Advanced New Technologies Co., Ltd. (an overseas subsidiary of Ant Group) ranked 43rd and OPPO ranked 49th.

IFI Claims is an established intellectual property information service provider in the U.S. with access to a large quantity of patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Total U.S. patent grants declined by about 7% from 2020, the most precipitous drop in the past decade, according to IFI data.

While the same cohort of firms comprised the top 10 in 2020, TSMC and Huawei represented the biggest risers in 2021, each moving up four slots on the list. OPPO ranked among the top 50 for the first time, and the number of patents granted in the whole year increased by 33% year-on-year.

SEE ALSO: Huawei and Buffalo Reach License Agreement Under Huawei’s Wi-Fi 6 Patents

South Korean electronics giant Samsung topped the 2021 IFI Global 250 list with a portfolio of 90,416 currently held patents. If corporate entities are counted by country, the U.S. leads the global list with 70 companies in the top 250, Japan is second with 51 and China is third with 46. However, China’s growing patent dominance is reflected by its holding six of the top 10 slots while the U.S. holds only one – IBM at number eight. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is second with 78,415, Midea Group is third with 58,495 and Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. is fourth with 48,307. Japan’s Canon is ninth with 40,706 and Panasonic is 10th with 37,538.