IBM, Ikea, MLS, Gazprom, Northrop: Intellectual Property
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International Business Machines Corp. racked up more U.S. patents than any other company for the 20th straight year, helped by increasing contributions from its researchers in other countries.
IBM’s 6,478 patents in 2012 mark a record for the company, research firm IFI Claims Patent Services said in a statement. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and Tokyo-based Canon Inc. ranked second and third. Google Inc. took a spot in the top 50 for the first time, with 15 more patents than Apple Inc.