IBM Patents – Key Insights and Stats (Updated 2023)

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?

IBM Patents Filing Trend

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 GrantIBM Applications FiledIBM Patents Granted
201165615795
2012109066002
201395043582
201479474028
2015102882244
2016105422637
2017110862458
201896701466
2019101932525
202065342040
202115061811
202243492

How many IBM patents are Alive/Dead?

Worldwide Patents

IBM Patents Portfolio

How Many Patents did IBM File in Different Countries?

IBM Worldwide Patents

Countries in which IBM Filed Patents

CountryPatents
United States Of America92200
China6663
Japan5184
United Kingdom3395
Germany2969
Europe1534
Taiwan1364
Korea (South)1143
Canada537
India394
Brazil260
Israel211
Australia205
Austria197
Singapore184
Mexico122
Russia83
Hong Kong (S.A.R.)76
South Africa70
Spain59
Denmark52
Poland51
Slovenia50
Portugal47
Hungary25
Lithuania22
Croatia16
Cyprus14
France12
Italy9
Pakistan9
Saudi Arabia5
Turkey2
Malaysia2
Switzerland2
Egypt2
Czech Republic1
Netherlands1

Where are Research Centers of IBM Patents Located?

Research Centers of IBM Patents

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 NumberCitation Count
US20110125734A1677
US20120131512A1456
US20110066587A1436
US20130007845A1391
US9038151B1368
US20110225277A1360
US20110119748A1354
US20140189677A1344
US20130066886A1337
US20110317496A1333

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 –

CompanyNumber of Patents
Microsoft612
Tsmc367
The Bank Of New York Mellon Trust Company Na344
Intel341
Samsung Electronics330
Sap Se202
Hewlett-Packard178
Amazon Technologies Inc177
Oracle International Corporation172
Vmware166

Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on IBM Patents

Top IBM Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications

Patent NumberCount of Rejected Applications
US9842004B226
US9274598B222
US20170061304A121
US20160056544A121
US20160364862A119
US20160049723A119
US9632827B216
US9426095B216
US9473598B215
US9502518B215
US9431296B215
US20170155515A115
US9760234B213
US9734464B213
US9628208B213

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 FirmTotal ApplicationsSuccess Rate
IBM Corporation8423296.11%
Inactive Pou Ip law432794.64%
Inactive Rsw Ip law318293.52%
Lenovo170197.47%
Inactive Tuc Ip law148799.39%
Inactive Rps Ip Law Dept138692.19%
Schmeiser Olsen & Watts134680.99%
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser Pc120737.69%
Garlick & Markison Pst108184.52%
Patterson & Sheridan Llp95568.25%

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!

What are IBM key innovation segments?

What Technologies are Covered by IBM?

The chart below distributes patents filed by IBM in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where IBM thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.

R&D Focus: How has IBM search focus changed over the years?

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!

Interested in knowing about the areas of innovation that are being protected by IBM?

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Our comprehensive report provides an in-depth look into the patent portfolio. The report includes a breakdown of the patent portfolio across various technologies, listing the patent along with brief summaries of each patent's technology.