Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained the top invention patent applicant in Taiwan in the first quarter of this year, outpacing all local and foreign applicants, the Intellectual Property Office said on Thursday.
TSMC filed 752 invention patents, up 4 percent from a year earlier, marking the fourth consecutive year the chipmaker claimed the first place in the first quarter.
Patents are categorized into three groups in Taiwan: invention, design and utility model. Invention patents are considered the most important in terms of new technology ideas.
Photo: Reuters
Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) took second place among local applicants with 146 invention patent applications, up 121 percent from a year earlier, the highest rate of growth among local firms.
DRAM chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) was third with 115 invention patent applications, up 17 percent from a year earlier, followed by flat-panel makers Innolux Corp (群創) and AUO Corp (友達), which filed 101 and 94 applications, up 3 percent and 7 percent respectively.
The office said it was the first time Innolux has filed more than 100 invention patent applications in a single quarter.
Rounding out the top 10 local applicants were communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱半導體), with 77 applications, down 28 percent; contract notebook computer maker Inventec Corp (英業達) with 55 applications, up 17 percent; Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) with 45 applications, up 50 percent, memorychip supplier Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) with 42 applications, down 9 percent; and the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute with 42 applications, up 5 percent.
Among foreign applicants, Applied Materials Inc reclaimed the top spot after nine years by filing 182 invention patent applications, down 12 percent from a year earlier. It was followed by Japanese electrical product maker Nitto Denko Corp with 176 applications, up 18 percent; US-based smartphone IC designer Qualcomm Inc with 169 applications, down 30 percent; South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co with 166 applications, up 44 percent; and Japanese semiconductor supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd with 128 applications, down 10 percent.
In the first quarter, 12,486 invention patent applications were filed, little changed from a year earlier, the office said.
The number of invention, utility model and design patent applications totaled 17,226 in the first quarter, down 2 percent from a year earlier, it added.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales