The report predicted that the Korean tech player would maintain the top spot “for the foreseeable future,” citing rival IBM’s aging assets, especially outdated patents acquired in the earlier years of its business.

“IBM’s abandonment rate (for old patents) is particularly high,” the report said.

“Samsung, on the other hand, is more likely to keep hold of its rights and is also more active in a wider area of technology.”

IBM and other global companies will have to innovate more or acquire more patent assets in order to keep pace, it added.

Though US entities were most frequent in the top 100 list, Asian entities accounted for seven of the 10 top companies on the list, with Japan’s Canon coming third at 39,996 patents and LG Electronics settling at seventh with 28,335.

Other South Korean names included SK Group at 56th, LG Display at 65th and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute at 82nd, data showed. China’s Huawei stood at 61st.

Conventional top-tier players Microsoft and Intel ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)