Apple garnered 1,136 new patents in 2012, up 68% from 2011


Apple received 68% more patent awards in 2012, like this one for a mini-SIM card connector
IBM led the list last year, receiving 6,478 patents or more than 17 a day. That is a lot of innovation and it also was the 20th year that IBM was on top. Right behind Big Blue was Samsung as Apple's rival scored 5,081 new patents. Japanese manufacturer Sony ranked fourth with 3,032 patents and Microsoft was sixth with 2,613 awards. Foxconn placed eighth with 2,013.
While it is great to see such innovations from today's top companies, not all of these patents will end up being used in a product. Some of those that do end up used in a device might just end up being displayed in court.
source: AppleInsider
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