Over 500,000 Corporate Intellectual Property Registrations in 12 Years... Samsung Electronics Ranks First

Cumulative Registrations of Top 500 Companies from 2010 to First Half of 2022 Total 497,682
Samsung Electronics Leads with 11.3%, LG Electronics Close Behind at 10.2%
Patents Account for 62.3% of Intellectual Property Rights... IT and Electrical Electronics Major Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] The number of intellectual property rights held by the top 500 domestic companies has approached 500,000 over the past 12 years. Among them, patent registrations accounted for 310,288 cases, representing 62% of the total. Samsung Electronics was the company with the highest number of intellectual property registrations, and it also had the most patent registrations. Including Samsung Electronics, the top companies such as LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company accounted for 34% of the total registrations, showing a concentration among the top firms.

Annual registrations surpassed 40,000 since 2019, showing an increasing trend... Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics lead in registration numbers

On the 31st, the Corporate Data Research Institute CEO Score investigated the intellectual property registration status over 12 years from 2010 to the first half of this year for the top 500 companies based on 2021 fiscal year sales.

This survey counted registrations of ▲patents ▲utility models ▲designs ▲trademarks. Mergers, splits, and other special cases were not considered, and joint applications were included. As a result, a total of 454 companies cumulatively registered 497,682 intellectual property rights. Forty-six companies had no intellectual property registrations.

The top 500 companies registered 27,861 intellectual property rights in 2010, and for the first time exceeded 40,000 registrations in 2013, recording 45,707 cases. In 2014, registrations increased to 46,575, the highest during the survey period. After a slight pause averaging 39,003 cases annually over the next four years, registrations again surpassed 40,000 from 2019 onward, steadily increasing. In the first half of this year, 23,420 cases were recorded, which is 51.8% of the 2021 registration volume.

By company, Samsung Electronics recorded a total of 56,257 registrations during the survey period, the highest number of intellectual property rights among the top 500 companies, accounting for 11.3%. LG Electronics ranked second with 10.2% (50,793 cases). LG Electronics surpassed Samsung Electronics in five years including 2010-2012 and 2016-2017 but has been second to Samsung Electronics for four consecutive years since 2018. Following them were ▲Hyundai Motor Company (25,021 cases) ▲Amorepacific (19,276 cases) ▲LG Display (18,453 cases), rounding out the top five companies. These companies' intellectual property rights totaled 169,800 cases, accounting for 34.1% of the total.

By industry, the IT and electrical electronics sector, which includes three of the top five companies, secured the most intellectual property rights among 21 industry groups. The 33 related companies registered a cumulative total of 181,213 cases during the survey period, accounting for 36.4% of the total. Following were ▲automobiles and parts (59,486 cases) ▲consumer goods (43,936 cases) ▲petrochemicals (32,552 cases) ▲food and beverages (31,111 cases), all registering over 30,000 intellectual property rights and ranking among the top five industries.

Among intellectual property rights, 'patents' are the most numerous... Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics account for 24.4% of patents

Among the intellectual property rights cumulatively registered by the top 500 companies, patents accounted for the largest share at 62.3% (310,288 cases). IT and electrical electronics companies registered a total of 146,301 patents, representing about half (47.2%) of all industry groups. This is more than three times the number of registrations (47,869 cases) in the second-ranked automobile and parts sector.

Among all companies, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics had the highest number of patent registrations, accounting for 24.4% of the total. Specifically, Samsung Electronics recorded 41,297 cases, and LG Electronics 34,259 cases. Following them were ▲Hyundai Motor Company (20,973 cases) ▲LG Display (18,117 cases) ▲LG Chem (17,197 cases) ▲POSCO Holdings (16,079 cases) ▲Samsung Display (10,736 cases), all with over 10,000 patent registrations.

The industry groups with the highest proportion of patents within their total intellectual property registrations were eight in total. Specifically, steel companies had 93.6% (21,506 cases) of their 22,972 registrations as patents. Following were ▲petrochemicals (86.2%, 28,052 cases) ▲shipbuilding, machinery, and equipment (85.9%, 23,381 cases) ▲IT and electrical electronics (80.7%, 146,301 cases) ▲automobiles and parts (80.5%, 47,869 cases) ▲public enterprises (79.1%, 8,927 cases) ▲telecommunications (66.8%, 10,224 cases) ▲construction and building materials (39.3%, 6,622 cases), all showing a high proportion of patents among their total registrations.

The second largest share among intellectual property rights was trademarks (23.9%, 119,061 cases). Twenty-four consumer goods companies registered 31,097 trademarks, ranking the industry highest. Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care, belonging to this sector, registered 12,780 and 11,975 trademarks respectively, ranking first and second.

The third and fourth largest shares were designs (12.9%, 63,971 cases) and utility models (0.9%, 4,362 cases). The IT and electrical electronics sector led in design registrations with 25,161 cases (39.3%), while the shipbuilding, machinery, and equipment sector led in utility model registrations with 1,250 cases (28.7%). By company, Samsung Electronics had the most design registrations with 12,250 cases. Amorepacific ranked high in utility model registrations with 736 cases.