Rethinking the strategic position of USPTO’s top utility patent holders

IP Value Wire joined a host of media in reporting the fact that for the 20th year in a row, USPTO granted IBM the most utility patents in 2012, almost 1,400 more than Samsung.

But IAM Magazine thinks Dennis Crouch’s abandonment statistics are far more relevant: “…in some years [IBM] has not paid first-time maintenance fees on up to 45% of the grants it has received – amounting to literally thousands of patents.”

In the next issue of IAM, using statistics and analysis provided by MDB Capital, the “US Patent 100” will be revealed for the first time, reflecting current owners of the most “non-expired, non-abandoned US patents.” From this perspective, Samsung is perched on top, some 6,000 patents higher than second place IBM.