A new report points to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba as the world’s leading applicant for authorised blockchain-related patents.
According to the “2020 Blockchain Global Patent Authorisation Report” (020年区块链领域全球授权专利报告) as of 14 May 2020 there were a total of 3924 authorised blockchain-related patents globally.
The US accounted for the largest share at 39%, followed by South Korea at 21%, and China in third place at 19%.
The Report was prepared by the Patent Protection Association of China (中国专利保护协会) (PPAC) and released on 1 July.
In terms of individual companies Alibaba was the world leader in terms of authorised blockchain patents, holding 212 in total.
Out of these patents 126 had obtained authorisation in countries or regions outside of China, accounting for over 59% of Alibaba’s total.
IBM came in second with 136 authorised blockchain-related patents, while South Korea’s Coinplug took third place with 107.
Tencent, including its online lending vehicle WeBank, took ninth place with a total of 42 authorised payments.
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