IBM Corp was once again the most prolific recipient of technology patents in 1997, receiving 346 more awards than its closest competitor Canon Inc, according to US Patent Office records. Despite a drop of 8% in the number of patents from the previous year, and a $1bn cut in R&D expenditure, IBM grabbed the top spot for the fifth consecutive year with 1,724 patents. However, the list of US patent recipients was dominated by Japanese firms, with 18 of the top 50 companies coming from Asia. These included NEC Corp with 1,095 patents finishing in third place on the list, and Fujitsu Ltd who earned 903 patents in fifth. Almost a third of IBM’s patents were software-related, and a further 15% were connected to network computing, reflecting the company’s focus on industry growth markets. Its software-related patents alone, which numbered 550, were higher than the total number awarded to rival Hewlett-Packard Co which finished 19th.
