Samsung Electronics Leads World’s Patent Race, Holds Over 90K Patent Families

South Korean multinational electronics corporation, Samsung Electronics has emerged as the world’s largest patent holder — holding the highest number of patents globally.

According to a data compilation by ifi Claims Patent Services, Samsung’s portfolio of patents stands at 90,146 families.

The report notes that Patent activity is a vital metric to investors, analysts, and scholars. It reveals a firm’s financial health as its intellectual property portfolio typifies its value. It also points to any company’s research and development (R&D) strategies and efficiencies, its competitiveness within its space, and underlying worth.

The report revealed that Asian companies dominated the top ten positions on the list of 250 companies across the world. Chinese companies dominated six out of the ten positions, the U.S, South Korea had one company each, while Japan had two.

China holds 29% of the worldwide 250 patent families, with the U.S and Japan coming behind with24 and 19 percent each.

Samsung is a major manufacturer of electronic components such as lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, image sensors, camera modules, and displays for clients such as Apple, Sony, HTC, and Nokia.

It is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones, starting with the original Samsung Solstice and later, the popularity of its Samsung Galaxy line of devices. As of 2019, Samsung Electronics was the world’s second-largest technology company by revenue, and its market capitalization stood at US$520.65 billion, the 12th largest in the world.

The company is also a major vendor of tablet computers, particularly its Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab collection. The company has also developed 5G capable smartphones including the Galaxy S22 and foldable phones including the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

According to a report by Forbes, Samsung has been a big beneficiary of the surging demand and stronger pricing for chips through Covid-19, with its stock gaining close to 50% by the end of 2021. Over Q3 2021, the company saw net profit jump 31% to 12.29 trillion Korean won (about $10 billion).

Investors King had previously reported that a considerable amount of local and retail investors had bought into Samsung Electronics last year, despite foreign holders relinquishing their holdings. In the first nine months of 2021, retail investors bought a net $27.9 billion or 32.9 trillion South Korean won worth of Samsung stocks.