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Is IBM unique in its patent techniques? If so, why? Top patenters of 2017: IBM Samsung LG Intel Canon(!) Alphabet Qualcomm (!) Toyota Microsoft Taiwa

• bluGill 7y ago
  There is a continuum. IBM patents everything. The other companies find patents less useful (for whatever reason) and so they are more careful about what they will spend money patenting. I've made several "inventions" that I'm sure any of the companies on your list would have patented, but since I don't work for them I don't have any patents.
• saxonww 7y ago
  My guess is that these companies are a lot more aggressive internally about getting their employees to author patent submissions. They either actively screen code submissions and projects for patentable ideas, make patent authorship a condition of advancement, or otherwise tie authorship to performance reviews in a meaningful way. Companies I've worked for have teams that facilitate employee patent submissions, and they will tell you why patenting is important to the company. They have had some kind of bonus structure so that you get rewarded if you submit a successful patent. But they pay well enough otherwise that, unless you're personally motivated to see your name attached to patents, it's just not worth the effort. To put this another way: the patents you author as an employee of a company are probably not that valuable to you. But, because of the potential legal protections they offer, they are very valuable to your employer. I think the companies that are more successful in having high patent counts are doing more to align employee interest with corporate interest w/r/t patents.