Samsung, which ranked first in terms of sales in the global semiconductor market last year, also ranked "the world's No. 1" in terms of applications for technology patents related to the semiconductor sector.
Samsung is the only company to hold more than 5,000 patents, comfortably outpacing major industry rivals such as Intel, Qualcomm and SK Hynix.
According to industry sources on April 21, Samsung ranked first with 5,803 patents applied for global semiconductor technologies in a recent survey released by China's patent information company Incopat.
Incopat said it has investigated more than 100 million patents it owns over a year from January to December 2018. In addition to memories such as DRAM and NAND flash memories, patents related to semiconductors included various technologies such as semiconductor materials, process and facilities.
Because semiconductors are also used during development of LCD (liquid crystal display) and OLED (organic light emitting diode) panels in display markets, many companies that specialize in displays have also made it into top rankings.
Analysts say that 5,803 patents were filed by Samsung Electronics, the flagship company of Samsung Group, and the group's major electronics-related firms such as Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDI.
Samsung is the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker such as DRAM and NAND, while also leading the industry in the flexible OLED market. The fact that Samsung, the No. 1 player in the industry, applied for many patents also means that it has excellent technical skills.
