CHICAGO - Intel continues to lead the Semiconductor industry as a key innovator, according to a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2007 patent portfolios released in the quarterly Patent Scorecard.

The Patent Scorecard reviews all patent activity in the sector and is published in the Walls Street Journal by the Patent Board, the leading independent provider of tools and metrics for patent analysis and intellectual property investing.

The Patent Scorecard uses The Patent Board’s industry-standard data and proprietary analytical tools to assess patent value, and ranks companies worldwide in 17 industry sectors.

Overall patenting trends are down in the Semiconductor industry. Only Samsung grew its granted patents --- and that by only 1%. All others in the top 10 had lower granted patents in this 13 week period. Intel maintains their leading position in Semiconductor Industry with a small reduction in patenting (Patent Count) backed by consistently high quality scores.

After number one ranked Intel, with 1991 patents as measured on a 13 week rolling average, top patenting companies for the quarter include Micron Technology, Samsung and IBM with 1611, 1081, and 977 respectively.

“From a quantity standpoint the Semiconductors industry is one of the most active. As the competitive field addresses Moore’s law however, we are seeing dedication to research and core science become a more telling indicator of innovation,” Vice President of advisory services at the Patent Board Scott Oldach said.

Patent Scorecard rankings are not solely based on the number of patents filed by a company; the quality, scientific strength and impact of its patents on the industry are also calculated into its overall Technology Strength rating.

Another key metric in the Patent Board’s Patent Scorecard is Industry Impact.

Semiconductor Energy Lab (SEL) the Japanese research lab leads the quality indicator with an Industry Impact™ score of 1.5. This rates the impact of its patent portfolio on the industry by measuring how frequently it is cited by others in recent years (e.g. 1.5 suggests that SEL receives 50% more citations than the average portfolio in this industry).

Broadcom Corporation is second in the top 10 with a score of 1.12.

Around the Industry Competitors Micron Technologies, and SEL made strides in Research Intensity, another quality indicator which speaks to the degree of influence scientific research has on more recent patenting trends.

Toshiba, Samsung and Texas Instruments all maintain lower Technology Cycle Time indices which measure the age of the science upon which a patent is patent is based. A lower number here suggests that the company’s patents are building upon newer technology.

IBM, Samsung, Hitachi, and Toshiba all have patents assigned to multiple industries. The numbers in this write up are based solely on those patents assigned to the Semiconductor Patent Portfolio. While in IBM’s case this is about 40% of their patents, the other companies have over 60% of their patents assigned to Semiconductors.

Infineon Technologies broke into the top 10 rankings due to their patenting activity which, while down from the previous 13 week moving average, remains higher that the remainder of the industry.

The Patent Board’s Semiconductor industry encompasses companies involved in the development and manufacture of semiconductor equipment and materials. This includes a variety of chips, integrated circuits, logic devices and microprocessors as well as testing equipment, packaging and specialty materials needed for the production of semiconductors.

Standings in the quarterly Semiconductors Patent Scorecard are based on a comparison of data for the prior 13 weeks.

The Semiconductors Patent Scorecard is primarily ranked by Technology Strength, which provides an aggregate assessment of patents and innovation using a blend of quality and quantity metrics. Only industry-specific patents within a company’s portfolio are considered in the calculations.

source: ag-IP news