Apple had a pretty good year for patent grants, but not its best

Apple's research and development work made it the seventh-biggest recipient of granted U.S. patents in 2023, but it's not as high as its 2020 record.

As a major tech company, Apple habitually files many patent applications every week, and is known as one of the biggest companies in the United States to do so. In a report of the 2023 patent landscape, Apple is shown to be very high up in the patent food chain.

According to IDI Claims' 2023 Top 50 U.S. Patent Assignees rankings, which covers companies registering intellectual property in the United States, Apple is seventh on the overall list.

Apple was granted 2,536 patents in 2023, the chart states. This is a 10.98% or 251 grant rise from 2022, when it managed 2,285 grants.

However, while impressive, the 2023 figure isn't Apple's most fruitful year. In 2020, it secured 2,791 patent grants in the U.S.

Apple's quarterly research and development expenditure

The seventh-place listing is an improvement for Apple, with it rising two spots. It now leads in front of LG Electronics (8th, 2,296 grants), Micron (9th, 2,233), and Intel (10th, 2,145). Ahead of it are Samsung Display (6th, 2,564), Canon (5th 2,890), and IBM (4th, 3,658).

Samsung Electronics is in the top spot with 6,165 grants in 2023, more than double Apple's figure. In second place is Qualcomm with 3,854 grants, and Apple chip partner TSMC is in third with 3,687 grants.

Apple consistently spends more money each year on research and development, though it has slowed its increases from its 2010's heyday. Its 2023 annual R&D spend of $29.915 billion is a 14% increase from 2022's figure.

While a lot goes towards product development, such as the iPhone 16 collection and the Apple Vision Pro, Apple is also increasing its work on AI technologies, including generative AI.