Recent data shows that IBM is the leader when it comes down to the most patents received last year. IBM received 4,186 U.S. patents last year and ranked first in the world on that measure. The data indicates that IBM exceeded the number of patents it received in 2007 by 33%, which is quite a considerable amount. IBM was followed by Samsung, receiving 3,515 patents in 2008, up 29% from 2007.

The top 5 was completed by Canon, Microsoft and Intel, coming in at the last positions. This shows that companies are now more careful with their achievements and whether someone takes advantage of them without paying the price.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has also seen an increase overall in the number of patents it granted to different companies, granting 157,774 utility patents in 2008, compared to 157,284 in 2007. On a global imaging, American businesses obtained 49% of patents granted in the world, down 1% from the results of 2007. In 2008, U.S. businesses held just four of the top 10 slots.

 Japanese companies took five of the top 10 slots in 2008. American exceeds in the number of new patents received in 2008, followed by Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan.

It seems that there is a great price put on intellectual property and companies are asking for patents on almost anything in order to better protect their products. The countries most preoccupied by this are the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany.