IBM inventors received a record 5,896 US patents in 2010, marking the 18th consecutive year the company has topped the list of the world's most inventive companies. Samsung was second, with 4,551 US patents, and Microsoft was third with 3,094.
IBM's Haifa Research Lab in Israel received 45 patents in 2010 making it the leading recipient of US patents in Israel, ahead of SanDisk-Israel (Nasdaq:SNDK) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA). IBM in Israel exceeded the combined total of patents received by Technion and Hebrew Universities.
According to IBM, 108 patents issued to the company in 2010 included at least one inventor from Israel.