Korean firms lead in smart-phone patent applications

SEOUL – South Korea’s two largest makers of high-tech - Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics - have made the most patent applications in the world in the fields of mobile phones and semiconductors. Samsung has secured the largest number of patent applications in the smart media sector.

In 2013, Samsung Electronics ranked top in the number of patent applications in the mobile phone, semiconductor and smart media sectors, according to a report released by Thompson Reuters. Samsung had 2,179 patent applications in mobile telephony, 1,362 patent applications in semiconductor materials and processes and 245 in smart media areas. These three areas are considered to be the core of smartphone technology.

LG followed with 1,678 patent applications for mobile phones, followed by Qualcomm of the US with 1,383 patent applications. Sony, Panasonic and SHARP, all of Japan, followed suit, with 1,071, 976 and 963 applications, respectively.