LG Awarded Best Patents in Japan

LG Electronics was rated the company that wins the highest quality of patents in Japan.

IPB, a consultancy specializing in patents, rated LG Electronics at number one in the usefulness of its patents with 1,339 points per patent, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Samsung Electronics received 1,060 points to come in third, behind LG Electronics and IBM.

Seiko Epson, the Japanese company with the highest ratings, only came in fourth. Renesas Technology, Murata Manufacturing, HP, TDK, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Alps Electrics followed this company.

Seiko Epson had the most number of patents with 10,801 patents, far outdoing LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics with 823 and 3,974 patents respectively.

LG Electronics received high points for patents on its home appliance products like refrigerators and air conditioners. Samsung Electronics did well with its optical fiber products. Both received high points on mobile handset and communications products.

IBM was strong in its multiprocessor and server products, while Seiko Epson received high points on liquid crystal display and inkjet printer products.

IP Bewertungs AG (IPB), a German patent evaluation firm, evaluated 6.8 million patents registered at Japan Patent Office by 8,426 manufacturing companies between January 1994 and October 2006.

IPB put weight on patents that received the most objections from other companies, judging that those patents must have been more useful than others.

iam@donga.com