New Delhi: Tech giant IBM on Tuesday said it received 9,043 patents in 2017, with India accounting for over 800 patents making the country the second highest contributor to the record tally.

IBM inventors received a record 9,043 patents in 2017, marking the company’s 25th consecutive year of US patent leadership and crossing the one lakh-patent milestone. These patents were granted to more than 8,500 IBM researchers, engineers, scientists and designers in the US and more than 40 other countries.

“IBM’s India inventors contributed over 800 patents to this record tally, making us the second highest contributor after the US region," IBM vice president (research), India and Singapore, Sriram Raghavan told PTI. This is a testament to IBM India’s exploratory research capabilities and commitment to innovation in creating technologies that touches lives, he added.

IBM’s patents in 2017 included more than 1,900 cloud patents, 1,400 in artificial intelligence (AI) and over 1,200 in the area of cybersecurity. The US-based firm also received patents in the areas of blockchain and quantum computing. For the past 25 years, IBM’s patent leadership has changed the way the world works with advancements critical to the modern era of computing, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) Ginni Rometty said in a statement.

“Today, nearly half of our patents are pioneering advancements in AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, blockchain and quantum computing—and all are aimed at helping our clients create smarter businesses," she added.

One of the patent is for a system that can help AI analyse and mirror a user’s speech patterns to improve communication between AI and humans. Another one, in the area of cybersecurity, turns the table on hackers by baiting them into email exchanges and websites that expend their resources and frustrate their attacks.

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