The most innovative company in the world - as ranked by patents - isn't actually Apple
But not any more. This year, there are 10 companies that have filed more patents than Apple.
Sqoop indexes new patent applications and grants as they are published by the United States Patent Office. It has pulled together a list of the companies that have applied for the most patents, and received the most grants, from the USPTO so far this year.
What is surprising is that while Apple is often lauded for its innovation, it isn't applying for, or being granted, the most patents.
IBM has been granted the most patents this year, having won 3,059 at the end of May. (Yes, that IBM, the big, old, enterprise tech company that everyone thought was being left in the dust by the newcomers of Silcon valley.)
Samsung comes second, with 3,052 patents granted. That will help the company fight the myth that it merely copies Apple.
Canon is third with 1,782.
Apple is at No.11, having been granted 780 patents this year, and Google is at No.5, followed by Sony and Microsoft.
Here are the top 40 companies by number of patents granted in 2015:
1. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) - 3059
2. Samsung - 3052
3. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - 1782
4. LG - 1263
5. Google - 1083
6. Sony Corporation - 1074
7. Microsoft - 1037
8. Qualcomm Incorporated - 1034
9. Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - 1022
10. Panasonic - 896
11. Apple - 780
12. General Electric Company - 730
13. Intel Corporation - 711
14. Ricoh Company - 695
15. Seiko Epson Corporation - 625
16. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company - 620
17. Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - 613
18 Fujitsu Limited - 570
19. GM Global Technology Operations - 542
20 Hewlett-Packard Development Company - 531
21. Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson - 509
22. Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha - 486
23. BlackBerry - 461
24. Broadcom Corporation - 454
25. Semiconductor Energy Laboratory - 451
26 Robert Bosch GmbH - 436
27. Honda Motor Co. - 417
28. Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha - 410
29 Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. - 408
30. Amazon Technologies - 391
31. The Boeing Company - 391
32 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft - 388
33 -Micron Technology, Inc. 371
34. Covidien LP - 370
35. Ford Global Technologies - 359
36 Cisco Technology - 353
37 AT&T Intellectual Property - 351
38. Nec Corporation - 336
39. Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute - 327
4o. SK Hynix Inc. - 323
But Samsung has actually applied for the most patents in 2015, coming in at No.1 on Sqoop's list with 2,487. IBM is at No.2, having applied for 1,764, and Toshiba is at No.3 with 989.
On this list, Apple is all the way down at No.23, having only applied for 279 patents up until the end of May 2015.
Here are the top 40 companies by number of patents applied for in 2015:
1. Samsung - 2487
2. International Business Machines Corporation - 1764
3. Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - 989
4. LG - 856
5. General Electric Company - 664
6. Qualcomm Incorporated - 617
7. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company - 561
8. Sony Corporation - 528
9. Hyundai Motor Company - 514
10. Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - 462
11. Google - 439
12. Ford Global Technologies - 437
13. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - 436
14. Microsoft - 383
15. Fujitsu Limited - 373
16. SK Hynix - 333
17. Ricoh Company - 330
18. Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson - 330
19. Hon Hai Precision Industry - 323
20. GM Global Technology Operations - 296
21. Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute - 293
22. FUJIFILM - 282
23. Apple - 279
24. Broadcom Corporation - 252
5. Cisco - 254
26. Xerox Corporation - 254
27. The Boeing Company - 253
28. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft - 243
29. AT&T Intellectual Property - 242
30. Robert Bosch GmbH - 236
31. Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha - 234
32. Honda Motor Co. - 214
33. Fuji Xerox Co. - 213
34. NEC Corporation - 195
35. Oracle International Corporation - 194
36. Wistron Corporation - 193
37. Baker Hughes Incorporated - 193
38. Verizon Patent and Licensing - 161
39. Nvidia Corporation - 161
40. Bank Of America Corporation - 160