Several of these top patent holders are in the list of e.DIGITAL current and future infringers

WILMINGTON, Del., (Jan. 14, 2009) — IFI Patent Intelligence, a Wolters Kluwer Health business, today released an annual compilation of the world’s top-ranked U.S.-patent companies, which suggests America’s longstanding dominance of new U.S. patents may be slipping. However, the economic downturn that epitomized 2008 did not slow the overall flow of U.S patent activity, at least not yet. According to IFI’s analysis, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a total of 157,774 utility patents in calendar year 2008, up slightly over 2007’s total of 157,284.

“What’s clear is that many of the world’s largest companies are placing a higher priority on protecting their intellectual property. This trend is occurring both here in the U.S. and abroad especially in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and other countries in Europe,” continued Slaughter. “Securing patents may be even more important in a down economy, since it gives patent-holders an edge over their competitors.”

It also is worth noting that many of the patents granted in 2008 were applied for back in 2005 and 2006, so today’s economy probably had little, if any, effect on 2008 approvals. “It will be interesting to report on how the patent pipeline flows two years from now and to see if the down economy leads to more or less patent activity,” added Slaughter. IFI data confirm that there was a three-year downward trend in patent approvals from 2003-2005, a period that followed the last recession in 2001.

Although annual utility patent grants have been up and down for the past decade, interest in protecting intellectual property both in the U.S and abroad is on an up swing. The USPTO posted a 6 percent increase in patent applications for its fiscal year 2008 for a total of 466,147. A growing backlog of patent applications has ensued for the past two decades and continues to pile up at the USPTO, with 1.2 million patents pending approval, according to its website.

“Just as the USPTO is creating new efficiencies to make progress against the backlog, they’re finding an increase in the number of new filings each year makes the process a true up-hill battle,” added Slaughter.

Employing proprietary authority lists and algorithms to enhance the speed and accuracy of the culling process, IFI Patent Intelligence analyzed 2008 USPTO data and prepared what has become the de facto standard ranking of U.S. patent assignees. A comprehensive analysis of U.S. patent ownership data for 2008 will be published by IFI. IFI’s list of 2008’s Top 35performers is posted on its website, www.ificlaims.com, and follows: