NEC granted 1,842 US patents

NEC Corporation (NEC) was awarded more U.S. patents than any other non-U.S. company in 1999 and placed second among all recipients of American patents, further strengthening the company's position as a leading technology innovator.

NEC was granted 1,842 patents, or a 13 per cent increase from the total patents granted to NEC in 1998. Today NEC is the top producer in Japan of new patents with yearly increases that average 10 per cent. NEC applied for more than 15,000 patents worldwide in 1999.

NEC is renown for its leading technological innovations and it is focusing this strength to Internet-related developments at an aggressive pace. NEC not only spends over $300 million each year on research and development with a continuing emphasis on innovation and commercialization, but is also encouraging management innovation such as cooperation across divisions that is boosting the company's total number of patent applications while maintaining its high, successful registration rate.

The majority of U.S. patents granted to NEC last year were for next-generation communication protocols that will form the basis for future mobile communications enabling users to access the Internet on the move and make video phone calls, as well as for technology patents that will enable the migration to and operation of the Internet. Other significant patents were awarded for MPEG-related technologies that will play a key role in digital consumer electronics by enabling high quality audio and video performance.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark office granted a record 154,594 utility and statutory patents in 1999, topping the record of 151,024 set in 1998, according to IFI Claims Patent Services, a patent tracking firm.

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