IBM receives record 9,262 US patents in 2019; India 2nd-highest contributor

Tech giant IBM on Wednesday said it has received record 9,262 US patents in 2019, with India being the second-highest contributor.

"IBM inventors received record 9,262 US patents in 2019, achieving a milestone of most patents ever awarded to a US company and marking the company's 27th consecutive year of US patent leadership," a statement said.

In 2019, IBM was granted patents across key technology areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, quantum computing and security, it added.

IBM inventors from India received over 900 patents, the second-highest contributor to the global tally after the US. Few of the patents filed from India include infrastructure costs and benefit tracking, automation and validation of insurance claims for infrastructure risks and failures in multi-processor computing environments, and eye contact-based information transfer.

"The pace of innovation continues to accelerate and reach unprecedented levels, especially in IBM's Labs. Technology advances -- whether AI, cloud or quantum computing will all contribute to solving the biggest challenges facing business and society," said John E Kelly III, executive vice-president, IBM.

Since 1920, IBM has received more than 140,000 US patents. This year, more than 8,500 IBM inventors, spanning 45 different US states and 54 countries contributed to the patents awarded to IBM, the statement said.