The most innovative US company in 2017 according to patent filings was IBM, continuing its 25 year streak at the top. IBM received 9,000 patents, beating Samsung who filed the second most. Facebook ranked 50th with 660 patents, while Apple ranked 11th with 2,229 patents, showing that household names are not always the most innovative. Universities also filed many patents, with the University of California ranking 63rd. Tesla was outside the top 1,000 due to Elon Musk's disinterest in the patent system and desire to allow others to adopt Tesla's electric vehicle technology.

1. Who was the most innovative US company in 2017? Dawn Ellmore
explains why it’s probably not who you think
If you were asked to guess the most innovative company in 2017, you may assume
a huge household name like Apple or Facebook would carry off the laurels.
According to the annual ranking from IFI Claims Patent Services, you’d be wrong.
Top of the innovators
The ranking is based on the number of patents granted by the US patent office and
uses these figures to create a list of the most innovative companies in America.
In 2017, the company that received the most patents was IBM, continuing a run as
the most innovative company in America held for 25 years.
Best measure of innovation
Patents are the best measure of how much a company is committed to developing
new ideas and bringing them to market. IBM just beat Samsung with an impressive
9,000 patents, even after Samsung’s three separate entities were added together.
Both these companies were awarded more than twice as many patents as any other
company. The next two that came closest to the two at the top were Canon KK
(3,285 patents) and Intel (3,023 patents).

2. The number of patents granted beat 2016’s total by more than 5%, thanks to the
continuing strength of the American economy. Here are some more unexpected
facts from the rankings:
 Facebook only managed number 50
Facebook is open about its ambitions when it comes to innovative technology, such
as plans for thought-to-text technology announced recently. Despite this, the media
giant has never been very high on the list of innovative companies in terms of
patents granted.
In 2017, it reached number 50 with 660 patents, up from 445 patents the year before
when it only just made number 85. This year’s result, although improved, still means
that Facebook received fewer patents than Honda, Boeing or brands unknown in the
UK, such as Halliburton.
 Apple failed to break the top 10
Although Apple is often assumed to be the most innovative company in the US, if not
the world, it hasn’t filed the most patents of any other company since 2010. This was
the last complete year of Steve Job’s leadership
In 2017, it made 11th place by filing 2,229 patents, which was a significant increase
from the 2,103 patents filed in 2016.
 Uber gets fewer patents than Yahoo
Public perception of Uber is as a major disrupter and tech unicorn, while Yahoo
tends to fly under the radar. However, Uber only filed 51 patents in 2017, putting
them at 778 out of the top 1,000. While that sounds unimpressive, it is up on 2016
when the company only filed 14 and only just scraped in to the top 1,000 at number
977.
In 2017, Uber was outranked by Adidas, Yahoo and even Electrolux (manufacturers
of vacuum cleaners). It was a year of major disruption for the company and its
founder, with a backlash against its culture, but it still managed to triple its patent
filings compared with 2016. This suggests that the engineers and project leaders at
the company can stay focused no matter what.
 Universities are receiving lots of patents
There’s no HE (higher education) institution in the top 50, but they are scattered
throughout the rest of the list. The University of California came in at 63 with 599
patents, followed by the University of Texas at number 147 with 245 patents.
Stanford managed number 157 with 235 patents and others such as Emory, the
University of Rochester and Drexel all made the top 1,000.
 Tesla is outside the top 1,000
Elon Musk is one of the most popular and open innovators in the world, but the only
entity of his on the list was SolarCity, which was bought by Tesla in 2016.
The lack of rankings in the list has nothing to do with Musk losing his innovative
edge. It’s more because he has lost interest in the patent system. In 2012, Musk told
Business Insider that patenting the innovations for SpaceX would be “farcical” due to
the stipulation that you must detail how something works for it to be patented. That

3. would mean Musk’s most innovative plans could be used by Chinese companies that
represent Tesla’s main competition – and who aren’t bound by US patent law.
In 2014, Musk announced that Tesla would stop filing patents for its technology, this
time to allow others to adopt its technology. Rather than avoiding competition, Musk
said that he wanted other car manufacturers to use his tech and bring more electric
cars onto the market to properly challenge the dominance of petrol cars. He
explained that Tesla Motors was “created to accelerate the advent of sustainable
transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then
lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a
manner contrary to that goal.”
Musk’s approach to IP is very much in the minority, and it’s doubtful many
companies will do the same.
If the world of patents and IP interests you and you’re looking for a career change,
then Dawn Ellmore Employment can help.