IBM Tops "Most Patents List" For 19th Straight Year 47
bednarz writes "IBM retained its patent crown for 2011, topping the list of patent winners for the 19th year in a row. The only other U.S. company to make the top 10, Microsoft, fell from third place to sixth place, according to IFI Claims Patent Services' list of the top 50 U.S. patent assignees. HP and Intel fell out of the top 10 and landed 14th and 16th, respectively. Apple moved up to No. 39 after breaking into the top 50 for the first time last year. Asian firms account for 25 of the top 50, and U.S. firms hold 17 slots."
Re:Samsung above Apple (Score:5, Informative)
If you compare the breadth of operation by Samsung and that of Apple, it's easy to see that Samsung has its fingers in a lot more pies, and it would be surprising if they didn't file more patents than Apple. It might be surprising if they filed more about tablets than Apple, though.
Samsung also has tons of patents on Real Things, not just software and device design. They do fundamental research into a lot of chemical and physical processes that feed into their display business, for instance. They patent methods and materials based on that research.