TIPO released its 2025 Statistical Rankings for Patent Applications and Grants. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) remained the top domestic applicant for invention patents for the tenth consecutive year, filing 1,485 applications. Among foreign applicants, Applied Materials of the United States retained the leading position with a record-breaking 1,088 applications. In the institutional categories, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) remained the vanguard among research organizations with 328 filings, while National Cheng Kung University led the academic sector with 134 applications. Regarding patent grants, TSMC and Applied Materials secured the top spots for domestic and foreign entities, with 1,543 and 684 grants respectively.

TSMC Remains the Top Domestic Invention Patent Applicant for the Tenth Consecutive Year

TSMC maintained its commanding lead in 2025, topping the domestic invention patent rankings for the tenth consecutive year with 1,485 applications, a 5% year-on-year increase. AU Optronics (397) secured the second position, followed by Hon Hai Precision Industry (340), Nanya Technology (328), ITRI (328), Inventec (316), Realtek Semiconductor (286), Delta Electronics (280), MediaTek (269), and Innolux (235). Among the top ten domestic applicants, Hon Hai Precision Industry recorded the highest growth rate at 31%, while Delta Electronics achieved its highest filing volume in the last 18 years (see Figure 1 and Table 1).

Further down the top twenty rankings, China Steel (ranked 14th) filed 143 applications, matching its 2013 historical peak, while Wistron (15th) filed 141 applications, its highest level in the last 11 years (see Table 1).

Applied Materials Remains Top Foreign Invention Patent Applicant

In 2025, Applied Materials of the United States retained the top position among foreign invention patent applicants for the second consecutive year, filing 1,088 applications. Tokyo Electron of Japan ranked second with 773 applications, followed by Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea (741), Coupang of the Republic of Korea (675), and Qualcomm of the US (570). The remainder of the top ten included Kioxia of Japan (454), Nitto Denko of Japan (406), Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan (359), Lam Research of the US (276), and Resonac of Japan (270). Among the top ten foreign applicants, Kioxia recorded the highest growth rate at 105% (see Figure 1 and Table 2).

Nine of the top 20 foreign applicants hit record highs in 2025, including Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Lam Research, and Resonac, as well as SCREEN Holdings of Japan (11th; 263), Panasonic Intellectual Property Management of Japan (15th; 203), Wonderland Switzerland (16th; 198), and SK Hynix of the Republic of Korea (19th; 153) (see Table 2).

ITRI Remains Leading Research Institute for 19th Consecutive Year, While National Cheng Kung University Tops University Rankings for Fourth Consecutive Year

In 2025, four research institutes ranked among the top 100 domestic invention patent applicants. ITRI ranked fourth with 328 applications, maintaining its position as the top research organization for the 19th consecutive year (see Table 3).

The academic sector also showed strong presence, with 22 universities entering the top 100 for domestic invention filings. National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) led the university rankings for the fourth consecutive year with 134 applications. Ming Chi University of Technology secured second place with 86 applications, marking its first appearance among the top ten universities. Other leading universities included National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (83), National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (73), National Chung Hsing University (70), National Chin-Yi University of Technology (69), National Tsing Hua University (67), National Sun Yat-Sen University (61), National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (60), and National Taiwan University (60) (see Table 4).

In respect of overall patent applicants, NCKU ranked first among universities with 154 applications, followed by Taipei City University of Science and Technology with 140 applications, largely due to utility model applications (see Table 5).

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