IBM tops US patent list for 2019 with over 9,000 patents, India second-highest contributor
Since 1920, IBM has received more than 140,000 US patents. This year, more than 8,500 IBM inventors, spanning 45 different US states and 54 countries contributed to the patents awarded to IBM.
Tech giant IBM on Wednesday said it has received record 9,262 US patents in 2019, with India being the second-highest contributor.
"IBM inventors received record 9,262 US patents in 2019, achieving a milestone of most patents ever awarded to a US company and marking the company's 27th consecutive year of US patent leadership," a statement said.
In 2019, IBM was granted patents across key technology areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, cloud computing, quantum computing and security, it added.
IBM inventors from India received over 900 patents, the second-highest contributor to the global tally after the US. Few of the patents filed from India include infrastructure costs and benefit tracking, automation and validation of insurance claims for infrastructure risks and failures in multi-processor computing environments, and eye contact-based information transfer.
"The pace of innovation continues to accelerate and reach unprecedented levels, especially in IBM's Labs. Technology advances -- whether AI, cloud or quantum computing will all contribute to solving the biggest challenges facing business and society," said John E Kelly III, executive vice-president, IBM.
Since 1920, IBM has received more than 140,000 US patents. This year, more than 8,500 IBM inventors, spanning 45 different US states and 54 countries contributed to the patents awarded to IBM, the statement said.
Earlier in September 2019, The Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry, has signed an agreement with IBM to carry out a nationwide Train-the-Trainer programme in basic Artificial Intelligence.
As part of the programme, ITI trainers will be trained on basic artificial intelligence (AI) skills towards using the technology in their day-to-day training activities, the ministry said in a statement.
This programme, it said, aims at enabling the trainers with basic approach, workflow and application of artificial intelligence that they can apply in their training modules.
"IBM aims at training 10,000 faculty members from ITIs across the country and the programme will be executed over a period of one year with 14 trainers across 7 locations with over 200 workshops," it added.
Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, many more training programmes will be initiated for the trainers.
These digital skills will provide an edge to the trainers responsible for imparting academic curriculum to students and help them enter the workforce as they are aligned to industry 4.0, he said.
The participants will take online courses with technical support from the trainers enabling continuous learning.
On completion, participants will go through a post assessment to further gauge their skill set and the level they have achieved.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
