????6. 東芝

????專利數量：2608項

????代表性專利：“半導體設備”

????國家：日本

????科技巨頭東芝名列第六位。盡管在過去五年，這家日本公司在美國獲得的專利比例下降了2.5%，但在商業專利數據庫2014年的排行榜中，它仍表現出強勁的實力。（東芝在美國、韓國與中國申請的專利比例繼續穩步增長，中國更是提高了一倍，但卻僅占全年專利總數的2%，而日本與歐洲的比例則在持續下降?？ǖ蠈⑦@一趨勢歸因于“這兩個市場的緊縮政策”。）東芝公司最主要的專利類別為半導體設備，其中包括這項挑釁意味十足的專利“半導體設備”。專利申請文件中提到其用途是生產“在數據保持和讀取性能上均獲得提升的”設備。

????6. Toshiba

????Patents earned: 2,608

????Representative patent: "Semiconductor Device"

????Country: Japan

????With tech conglomerate Toshiba clocking in at sixth place, Japanese companies retain a strong showing on IFI Claims' 2014 list—despite Japan's share of U.S. patent grants having declined 2.5% over the past five years. (While the U.S., Korea and China's share of patent grants continues to grow steadily—China's share actually doubled, though it still only accounts for a meager 2% of the year's total—Japan and Europe's shares are in decline. Cady attributes this trend to "general belt-tightening in those markets.") The company's most popular patent category is semiconductor devices, where one may find the provocatively titled patent "Semiconductor Device." The filing mentions its purpose as producing a device "improved both in data retention characteristics and read characteristics."