IBM has a total of 122110 patents globally, out of which 35080 have been granted. Of these 122110 patents, more than 59% patents are active. United States of America is where IBM has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by China and Japan. Parallelly, USA seems to be the main focused R&D center and also is the origin country of IBM.
IBM was founded in 1911 by Charles Ranlett Flint. IBM provides computer solutions. The Company offers application, technology consulting and support, process design and operations, cloud, digital workplace, and network services, as well as business resiliency, strategy, and design solutions. IBM serves clients worldwide. As of May 2022, IBM has a market cap of $120.16 Billion.
Read about some of the most popular patents of IBM which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find IBM patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over IBM patent portfolio.
How many patents does the Founder and CEO of IBM have?
The Founder Charles Ranlett Flint has 0 patents and the CEO Arvind Krishna have 59 patents.
How many patents does IBM have?
IBM has a total of 122110 patents globally. These patents belong to 67314 unique patent families. Out of 122110 patents, 72696 patents are active.
How Many Patents did IBM File Every Year?
Are you wondering why there is a drop in patent filing for the last two years? It is because a patent application can take up to 18 months to get published. Certainly, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.
| Year of Patents Filing or Grant | IBM Applications Filed | IBM Patents Granted |
| 2011 | 6561 | 5795 |
| 2012 | 10906 | 6002 |
| 2013 | 9504 | 3582 |
| 2014 | 7947 | 4028 |
| 2015 | 10288 | 2244 |
| 2016 | 10542 | 2637 |
| 2017 | 11086 | 2458 |
| 2018 | 9670 | 1466 |
| 2019 | 10193 | 2525 |
| 2020 | 6534 | 2040 |
| 2021 | 1506 | 1811 |
| 2022 | 43 | 492 |
How many IBM patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did IBM File in Different Countries?
Countries in which IBM Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 92200 |
| China | 6663 |
| Japan | 5184 |
| United Kingdom | 3395 |
| Germany | 2969 |
| Europe | 1534 |
| Taiwan | 1364 |
| Korea (South) | 1143 |
| Canada | 537 |
| India | 394 |
| Brazil | 260 |
| Israel | 211 |
| Australia | 205 |
| Austria | 197 |
| Singapore | 184 |
| Mexico | 122 |
| Russia | 83 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 76 |
| South Africa | 70 |
| Spain | 59 |
| Denmark | 52 |
| Poland | 51 |
| Slovenia | 50 |
| Portugal | 47 |
| Hungary | 25 |
| Lithuania | 22 |
| Croatia | 16 |
| Cyprus | 14 |
| France | 12 |
| Italy | 9 |
| Pakistan | 9 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5 |
| Turkey | 2 |
| Malaysia | 2 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Egypt | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of IBM Patents Located?
10 Best IBM Patents
US20110125734A1 is the most popular patent in the IBM portfolio. It has received 677 citations so far from companies like Alibaba Group, Microsoft and Accenture Global Solutions Limited.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of IBM:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US20110125734A1 | 677 |
| US20120131512A1 | 456 |
| US20110066587A1 | 436 |
| US20130007845A1 | 391 |
| US9038151B1 | 368 |
| US20110225277A1 | 360 |
| US20110119748A1 | 354 |
| US20140189677A1 | 344 |
| US20130066886A1 | 337 |
| US20110317496A1 | 333 |
Which Companies are using IBM Patents to Advance their Research?
If patents or patents from a particular technology area of a company receive a lot of citations, it implies that the technology is being followed and incrementally innovated by the citing companies. It also indicates that citing companies are working on similar and closely related technologies.
The top citing companies in the IBM patent portfolio are Microsoft, Tsmc and The Bank Of New York Mellon Trust Company Na.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Microsoft | 612 |
| Tsmc | 367 |
| The Bank Of New York Mellon Trust Company Na | 344 |
| Intel | 341 |
| Samsung Electronics | 330 |
| Sap Se | 202 |
| Hewlett-Packard | 178 |
| Amazon Technologies Inc | 177 |
| Oracle International Corporation | 172 |
| Vmware | 166 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on IBM Patents
Top IBM Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US9842004B2 | 26 |
| US9274598B2 | 22 |
| US20170061304A1 | 21 |
| US20160056544A1 | 21 |
| US20160364862A1 | 19 |
| US20160049723A1 | 19 |
| US9632827B2 | 16 |
| US9426095B2 | 16 |
| US9473598B2 | 15 |
| US9502518B2 | 15 |
| US9431296B2 | 15 |
| US20170155515A1 | 15 |
| US9760234B2 | 13 |
| US9734464B2 | 13 |
| US9628208B2 | 13 |
What Percentage of IBM US Patent Applications were Granted?
IBM (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 154499 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 126368 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 86.1%.
Below are the key stats of IBM patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for IBM?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| IBM Corporation | 84232 | 96.11% |
| Inactive Pou Ip law | 4327 | 94.64% |
| Inactive Rsw Ip law | 3182 | 93.52% |
| Lenovo | 1701 | 97.47% |
| Inactive Tuc Ip law | 1487 | 99.39% |
| Inactive Rps Ip Law Dept | 1386 | 92.19% |
| Schmeiser Olsen & Watts | 1346 | 80.99% |
| Scully Scott Murphy & Presser Pc | 1207 | 37.69% |
| Garlick & Markison Pst | 1081 | 84.52% |
| Patterson & Sheridan Llp | 955 | 68.25% |
EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!
What are IBM key innovation segments?