The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) announced on February 10 that 12 Taiwanese enterprises and research institutions from Taiwan’s Top 100 Patent Applicants list—including TSMC, AUO, Foxconn, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Nanya Technology, Realtek, Delta Electronics, MediaTek, Wistron, ASUS, Silicon Motion, and Coretronic Corporation—have been recognized as Taiwan’s AI patent leaders in TIPO’s “Analysis of AI Patent Technology Deployment Across Nations.”
 
These organizations actively use Taiwan as the primary hub for their patent strategies before scaling their reach globally. Their inclusion in the 2026 Clarivate Top 100 Global Innovators list underscores international recognition of Taiwanese enterprises’ achievements in R&D innovation and strategic global patent deployment.
 
TSMC Tops Domestic Invention Patent Applications for a Decade
As the world’s premier dedicated semiconductor foundry and a key driver of AI, TSMC has accumulated over 78,000 granted patents worldwide. This reflects its ongoing commitment to technological innovation and has allowed TSMC to maintain the top spot in patent applications in Taiwan for ten consecutive years.
 
Foxconn Expands Global Patent Reach
Since 2023, Foxconn has allocated substantial resources to support its various business units. Moving beyond applications tied solely to the “actual place of use” or “place of manufacture,” the company has adopted a global perspective. By anticipating future markets for its technologies, Foxconn strengthens its international patent presence, filing applications concurrently in Taiwan and overseas to ensure critical technologies take root domestically.
 
MediaTek Strengthens Competitiveness Through Global Patents
Taiwan’s largest IC design house, MediaTek, continues to invest heavily in R&D for System-on-Chip (SoC) designs, including AI, 6G, WiFi 8, smart devices, and multimedia image processing. By actively filing global patents for its research outcomes, MediaTek reinforces its commitment to innovation and strategically builds a robust patent portfolio.
 
ITRI Focuses on Quality and Strategic Deployment
ITRI has been named a “Top 100 Global Innovator” for the tenth time. For years, it has used Taiwan as the first filing country to lay the foundation for international expansion. Recently, ITRI has promoted a market-driven deployment strategy guided by the principle of “sufficient quantity and high quality.” Through comprehensive market evaluation, patent grading, and maintenance management, ITRI concentrates resources on patents with high commercial potential.
 
Universities Drive Innovation and Technology Transfer
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has led universities in invention patent applications for four consecutive years. Its refined patent counseling and evaluation system identifies commercial viability early in the R&D process, ensuring key technologies are protected and facilitating industry-academic cooperation.
 
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) maintains long-term partnerships with industries, focusing on the application of core technologies and securing high-value patents. By effectively commercializing these technologies, NTUST repeatedly sets record highs in industry–academia collaboration agreements, reaching over NT$530 million in 2025. Intellectual property revenue also hit a new peak, exceeding NT$130 million in 2024.
 
TIPO Publishes “AI-Related Invention Case Study Collection”
To improve patent quality and refine the examination of AI-related inventions, TIPO has compiled the “Taiwan AI-Related Invention Case Study Collection.” Featuring six practical cases, the collection helps applicants better understand the examination process for AI-related patents, guiding industries to enhance specification quality and strengthen global patent deployment. These resources are strongly recommended for use.
 
(This is a translated version of a news release published on the TIPO website: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/tw/tipo1/891-72352.html)