IBM LEADS U.S. PATENT LIST FOR NINTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR; TOPS PREVIOUS RECORD BY NEARLY 20 PERCENT.

For the ninth consecutive year, IBM was awarded the most U.S. patents in 2001, with a record 3,411 issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This represents nearly a 20 percent increase over its previous record of 2,886 set in 2000 and makes IBM the first patent holder in history to be granted more than 3,000 U.S. patents in a single year.

IBM topped the next closest company by 75 percent, a margin of more than 1,450 patents. In fact, IBM's number surpassed the combined total of patents awarded to 12 of the largest U.S. companies in the IT industry -- Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Sun, Microsoft, Compaq, Dell, Apple, EMC, Oracle, EDS, Accenture and AOL.

6 The 2001 U.S. patent results were reported recently by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. An agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the USPTO administers the patent and trademark laws of the U.S., advises the Administration on intellectual property policy and issues patents.

"One of the biggest myths of 2001 was that innovation was dying along with the dot.com bust. The fact is that innovation is thriving in the research and development labs of corporate America and companies around the world, as this year's patent results confirm," said Nick Donofrio, IBM senior vice president, Technology and Manufacturing. "IBM's commitment to technical leadership and developing the most advanced information technologies is paying off for our customers and remains the primary reason we continue to attract and retain the world's best scientific and technical talent."

IBM's research and development priorities continue to position the company for leadership in key industry segments, with more than 1,500 patents for infrastructure technologies (including software, servers and storage systems) and 1,200 patents for core component technologies (microelectronics, storage devices and displays).

More than one third of the technologies IBM patented last year are already being applied to IBM product and service offerings. For example, Patent 6280813, Magnetic Recording Media with Antiferromagnetically Coupled (AFC) Ferromagnetic Films as the Recording Layer, is IBM's "pixie dust" patent. Pixie dust is a new type of magnetic coating that is expected to quadruple the data density of current hard disk drive products. In 2001, IBM shipped more than 5.3 million disk drives manufactured with AFC media.

IBM holds more than 37,000 patents worldwide, including 20,000 in the U.S. In addition, the company is one of the largest non-European patent holders in Europe and one of the largest non-Japanese patent holders in Japan.

2001 Patents -- Selected Highlights

Among the U.S. patents issued for IBM inventions in 2001:

Mirror image improves chip performance

This patent refers to an alternate type of transistor -- the basic building block of semiconductors or microchips. Dual or double gate transistors use two gates, rather than one, to switch a transistor on and off, and this patent describes a breakthrough method for effectively manufacturing them. Double gate transistors improve on existing devices since they effectively double the electrical current that can be sent through a transistor or, alternatively, lower the amount of electricity running through a given gate for better power management. This makes these new transistors very suitable for high-performance processors or for very low power uses. (Patent 6207530: Dual gate FET and process)

Instant recovery: early example of self-healing capabilities

This patent describes how a computer system can recover more easily from a crash due to a corrupted application or operating system. With this invention, computer users can revert within minutes to a back-up copy of applications and operating system software stored in a separate area of the hard drive, without having to download or install a new copy from an outside computer. Called "Rapid Restore PC," this technology is available now on IBM ThinkPad notebooks and NetVista desktop PCs. (Patent 6195695: Data Processing System and Method for Recovering from System Crashes)

Linking data made easier

Computers store data in diverse and often incompatible forms: structured, unstructured, relational or hierarchical databases, in flat files or as multimedia objects. This patent allows users to access all types of data using a "single-query" search. This invention makes it possible for businesses to integrate the management and retrieval of traditional coded information with newer digitized data, and is at the heart of IBM's DiscoveryLink software, which is fueling the company's growth in the nascent Life Sciences industry. (Patent 6263342: Federated searching of heterogeneous data stores using a federated data store object)

New way to analyze fingerprints

This patent helps accurately identify and analyze fingerprints. Fingerprints can be distorted due to skin elasticity and the varying amount of pressure an individual applies when providing a fingerprint. In this invention, fingerprints are identified by counting the number of ridges between features in the print. By using the "ridge count," different images of the same fingerprint can be identified as identical. (Patent 6266433: System and method for determining ridge counts in fingerprint image processing)

Drivers' friend: artificial passenger

IBM researchers have developed an invention to keep drivers awake on the road. An automatic in-car dialog system carries on a conversation with the driver on various topics. The system analyzes the driver's answers together with his or her voice patterns to determine if the driver is alert while driving. The system warns the driver or changes the topic of conversation if it determines that the driver is about to fall asleep. Such a system also can be used for voice-activated operation of audio equipment, such as in-car CD/DVD players, radios and telephones. (Patent 6236968: Sleep prevention dialog based car system)

Results and rankings also were reported recently by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, which compiles the CLAIMS(c) patent database and annually reports the number of U.S. patents issued to companies. According to IFI CLAIMS, IBM inventors were listed on 42 additional patents awarded to other primary assignees for a total of 3,453 patents.