Taipei: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) was the leading invention patent applicant in Taiwan during the first quarter, securing its position for the sixth consecutive year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
According to Focus Taiwan, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, submitted 305 invention patent applications in the first quarter. This effort underscores the company’s commitment to advancing its technologies and maintaining a competitive edge globally. TSMC’s development of its advanced 2-nanometer process is on track, with mass production in Taiwan slated for the latter half of this year, following the successful launch of its 3nm technology in 2022.
Taiwanese patent law categorizes patents into invention, utility model, and design, with invention patents considered the most crucial for safeguarding new technological advancements. Following TSMC, memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. was second, filing 127 invention patents, while Delta Electronics Inc., a power management solutions provider, secured 82 patents, marking the highest level of patent applications in the company’s history.
The MOEA’s Intellectual Property Office reported that the top 10 local invention patent applicants also included Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (72 patents), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (69), MediaTek Inc. (59), Inventec Inc. (54), and Acer Inc. (47).
For foreign applicants, U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc. topped the list for the third consecutive year with 263 invention patent filings. They were followed by Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd. (236), South Korea’s Coupang Corp. (221), Samsung Electronics Co. (198), and Japan’s Nitto Denko Corp. (154). Notably, Applied Materials and several other foreign companies, such as Tokyo Electron and Kioxia, achieved their highest-ever quarterly invention patent filings.
In total, the Intellectual Property Office received 17,063 patent applications in the first quarter, marking a 1 percent increase from the previous year. The applications comprised 12,202 invention patents, 3,232 utility model patents, and 1,629 design patents, with local applicants accounting for 47 percent and foreign applicants for 53 percent of the total.