These Firms Won the Most Patents in 2016

IBM earned a record 8,088 U.S. patents in 2016 thanks in part to the company's research into artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. Meanwhile, other American U.S. tech companies, including Qualcomm and Google were among the other leaders in earning patents, which many see as a metric of innovation.

The figures, published by researcher IFI Claims Patent Services, also show Amazon (AMZN, -0.02%) posting a 46% increase in patenting activity as the Seattle company claimed 1,662 inventions last year. From a country perspective, U.S. firms led with 41% of all patents received, followed by Japan (28%) and South Korea (15%).

More: http://fortune.com/2017/01/09/most-patents-2016/