"Intellectual property flows from where markets are flourishing; you’ll see upticks in the amount of technology and intellectual property which we generate outside the US" says Manny Schecter, IBM's chief patent counsel.

While IBM topped the list, there were other giant companies with increased patent figures competing among each other to climb up the ladder. Apple, a company that revolutionized the technology sector with iPhone and iPad gained this year by jumping to 22^nd position from 39^th place last year. While Apple did a good job with a progressive increase in patents, its close rival in mobile software, Google went ahead and decorated the 21^st position. Both of these tech giants have been quarrelling over intellectual property rights along with mobile manufacturer Samsung who stands second in the list. 

The US Patent and Trademark Office have created a record with 253,155 registered patents this year. The importance of having a completely dedicated research team helps a company to innovate and through registering these patents they can avoid frequent walks to the court room.