back to article Microsoft's patent tumble: A kinder, gentler IP politics? No

The fact that IBM filed more patents in 2015 than anybody is about as usual as Alexander Lukashenko sweeping to a fresh presidential term in Belarus. For a 23rd year, our glorious leader IBM has been ranked number one in the top 50 US patent assignees, with 7,355 grants. Samsung Electronics came second with 5,072 with Canon KK …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    where's the beef

    "What Microsoft is doing is changing to more covert means to file its creations. In future, if you encounter a Microsoft patent, there's a good chance you won't know it's registered to Microsoft. Also, there's a good chance somebody other than Microsoft's legal team will be doing the chasing."

    How about some proof to back this up? List of shell companies and some key patents perhaps?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: where's the beef

      Exactly, I think I am missing a page or something.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Microsoft setting up its own trolling entities

    a few legal entities that have nothing to do with the development or production of technology but exist only to look for income from potential violators...

    I see some interesting results from this.

    If they dont have the setup right they could end up being sued by their own non-practising entity which could be a fun show...

  3. ZSn

    US patents

    Raw numbers mean nothing. Taking into account the quality of patents that manage to get through the United States Patent Office, I suspect that most of those n-thousand are worthless. What would be more informative is what they are actually worth - what they can be used for and how much they are licensed for. Though, there again, it sometimes depends upon how good your lawyers are as opposed to how good the patent is.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: US patents

      It's entirely about filing it at USPTO and your lawyers. Not at all about real engineering or "good" patents.

  4. Mage Silver badge
    Devil

    The Elephant

    Given how little new physics and genuine innovation (I can count less than 20 in electronics in last 20 years), most of these are bogus patents. Either not really innovative, obvious to anyone expert in the art, already done etc.

    Also how many are not "inventive" but what in UK would be simply registered designs?

    How many are existing technology dressed up in a new description?

    It's an intellectual war legal battle, not innovation. The USPTO idea is that companies and individuals test validity in court. This unfairly penalises everyone except International Behemothic Moneyed, companies and similar.

    I can't believe that ALL tech people together in the world can come up with 1500 real patents for Electronics (any software, GUI etc should be invalid, only novel UI devices should be possible for GUI, and in reality there have been none of them since mouse & touch screens, or pens that don't use screen image optically, the Wacom type pen is pretty old, digitisers with a puck older. Light pens, touch screen and tracker ball predate mice).

    1. PleebSmasher

      Re: The Elephant

      Are you saying I can patent ivory-based electronics?

  5. Whitter
    Unhappy

    Invention?

    Assuming we are talking about utility patents (rather than design patents), a patent requires to be inventive (not just clever or cunning) in addition to being novel,

    I seriously doubt 7000 things were invented last year, let alone by one company.

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