According to the list of top 100 patent applicants in 2025 published by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), TSMC remained the leading domestic company for the tenth consecutive year, with a filing increase of 5% from 2024. Applied Materials ranked as the top foreign company, showing a growth of 15%. For invention applications from the top ten applicants, Hon Hai Precision achieved the highest annual increase of 31% among domestic companies, while Kioxia led the foreign companies with an increase of 105%. Within the top 100 foreign applicants, Japanese companies accounted for approximately 40%, with the remainder comprising companies from the United States, China, South Korea, Europe, and other countries or regions. The following tables summarize the TIPO statistics on the top 100 patent applicants for reference.
Number of Patent Applications filed by Domestic and Foreign Applicants in 2025
| Type of Patent | Invention | Utility Model | Design | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Applicant | Enterprise | 15,319（↓1%） | 8,516（↓4%） | 2,290（↓5%） |
| School | 1,769（↑8%） | 900（↓16%） | 105（↓36%） | |
| Research Institute | 658（↓2%） | 67件（↓16%） | 2（n/a） | |
| Foreign Applicant （mainly enterprises） | 31,719（↑2%） | 1,426（↑17%） | 3,543（↓12%） | |
The above table refers to applications filed by legal entities, not including those from individual applicants.
Top Domestic Applicants with the Number of Applications
| Enterprise [invention]: TSMC 1485, AU Optronics 397, Hon Hai Precision 340, Nanya Tech 328, Inventec 316, Realtek 286, Delta Electronics 280, Mediatek 269, Innolux 235, United Microelectronics 179, Acer 171, Chunghwa Telecom 151, CSC 143, Wistron 141 |
| School [invention]: National Cheng Kung University 134, Ming Chi University of Technology 86, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University 83, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology 73, National Chung Hsing University 70 |
| Research Institute [invention]: Industrial Technology Research Institute 328, Metal Industries Research & Development Centre 102, National Atomic Research Institute 45 |
Top Foreign Applicants with the Number of Applications
| [Invention] Applied Material 1088, Tokyo Electron 773, Samsung Electronics 741, Coupang 675, Qualcomm 570, Kioxia 454, Nitto Denko 406, Shin-Etsu Chemical 359, Lam Research 276, Resonac 270, Screen 263, Fujifilm 256, ASML Netherlands 219, Sumitomo Chemical 204, Panasonic IP Management 203, Wonderland Switzerland 198, ASM IP Holding 161, JSR 157, SK Hynix 153, Huawei 152, LG Display 151, Nissan Chemical 145, AGC 144, SEL 140, Fanuc 139, ACM Shanghai 133, LG Innotek 133, JFE 128 |
| [Design] Harry Winston 147, Roborock Tech 141 (also IN 125 / UM 121), Wonderland Switzerland 125 (also IN 198 / UM 5), Apple 103 (also IN 68), Renault 73, Molex 69 (also IN 72), Nanjing Roborock 52 (also IN 24 / UM 44) |
IN: Invention UM: Utility Model DE: Design
