IBM sets a new record for patents, bringing it to more than 100,000 since 1993

IBM inventors have obtained a record number of 9,100 patents in 2018, which led the company to win the top prize in the sector for the 25th consecutive year and exceed 100,000 patents. The new patents have been granted to a diverse group of over 8,500 researchers, engineers, scientists and designers in 47 different states in the United States and in 47 nations worldwide.

Keeping in mind that an ever-increasing number of companies operate in the cloud, IBM scientists scored a real achievement, obtaining more than 1,900 patents in 2017 in this area, including one created to forecast cloud resource requirements, which uses unstructured data related to world or local events. The system is able to monitor data sources—including new feeds, network statistics, weather reports and social networks—to identify where and how cloud resources are allocated to meet needs.

Another series of innovations helps to solve one of the current limits of artificial intelligence: the lack of personalization, which can hinder the way in which AI communicates with people. Among the 1,400 patents in the field of artificial intelligence, IBM inventors were granted a patent in 2017 for a system that can help AI analyze and reflect user language models to improve communication between machines and human beings .

IBM inventors have also obtained 1,200 patents in the field of cybersecurity, including one relating to a technology that allows artificial intelligence systems to turn the tables on hackers, attracting them into e-mail exchanges and websites with the aim of using up their resources and nullifying the “phishing” e-mails.

IBM inventors have also patented significant innovations in emerging fields such as quantum computing, including a new way to improve the computer’s ability to capture and store information—called “signal readout fidelity.” This method increases the efficiency of the components needed. to realize a quantum computer system.

This year’s tally brings IBM to over 105,000 patents granted in the United States from 1993 to 2017.