[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics grabbed the No. 2 spot in US patent grants among global corporate giants in 2018, industry data showed on Jan. 10.

The world’s top smartphone and memory chip maker received 5,850 US patent grants last year, up 13 from the previous year, according to the data from IFI Claims Patent Services, provider of a top global patent data platform.

IBM topped the list with 9,100 grants, up 1 percent from a year earlier, maintaining its position as the top patent leader for the 26th consecutive year.

Canon followed Samsung with 3,056. Intel came next with 2,735 then LG Electronics with 2,474. All registered declines from a year earlier.

Other Korean firms included Samsung Display, which ranked 14th with 1,948 grants. Hyundai Motor placed 19th with 1,369.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)