In the patent application for artificial intelligence (AI) robots, LG Electronics ranked first, surpassing China and the United States.
The Korea Intellectual Property Office released an analysis on the 5th of patent applications related to robots applying AI technology from five major patent application countries: Korea, the United States, China, the European Union, and Japan. According to the analysis, the number of AI robot patent applications increased at an average annual rate of 58.5% over the last decade (2012–2021). The application quantity that was only 20 in 2012 reached 1,260 in 2021.
By country, China had the most at 60% (3,313 cases). Following that, Korea accounted for 24.7% (1,367 cases), and the United States had 8.1% (446 cases).
Among the applicants, LG Electronics filed 1,038 applications, ranking first. LG Electronics' patents accounted for 18.8% of the total patent applications. Japan's Fanuc was second with 97 cases, China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology was third with 83 cases, and Google was fourth. Samsung Electronics ranked eighth.
LG Electronics had overwhelmingly more related patents than other corporations by integrating AI technology for object recognition and voice recognition into its cleaning robots, service robots, and logistics robots. LG Electronics Head of Team, Shin Chasung, noted, “We began full-scale R&D in 2017 for new business in the field of robots and AI, and as a result of our efforts to secure patent dominance and portfolio, relevant patent applications were particularly numerous in 2019.”
A representative from the Korea Intellectual Property Office stated, “Most of China's applications are limited to its own country, and major global corporations like Tesla have few patent applications.” They added, “If we actively pursue patent rights while focusing on the development of external interaction technology and driving control technology, it could be a good opportunity for our country to secure patent rights related to AI robots.”