Microsoft is the top dog when it comes down to the patent portfolios companies around the world managed to build in 2007 in the U.S. The Redmond company was placed at the top of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) annual Patent Scorecard, not only because of the sheer volume of patents filed and awarded, but also because of a combination of factors including year-to-year growth, impact, and originality.

The various parameters taken into consideration amount to a patent portfolio Pipeline Power score of 3505 for Microsoft, the largest among all companies and organizations considered.

Bart Eppenauer, Microsof chief patent counsel and associate general counsel, revealed that this was the second year in a row when the Redmond company was at the top of the IEEE Patent Scorecard. “As the company expands its R&D facilities and efforts around the world, we have stepped up our efforts to expand Microsoft’s patent portfolio by increasing filings with the world’s major patent offices,” Eppenauer stated.

“We are continuously improving our ability to better identify and capture the innovation taking place at Microsoft and the related IP in alignment with Microsoft’s business goals of investing in innovation to improve people’s lives and provide economic benefit to regions around the world. You can think of this as part of the overall importance of IP to economic development — IP plays a role by protecting innovations, providing incentives for R&D investment, creating economic opportunities, which all gives back to those local economies, both large and small.”

According to the software giant, its Patent Group currently manages in excess of 10,000 patents that have been issued in the U.S. alone, in the context in which over 17,000 are still pending. Internationally, Microsoft has cranked its innovation wheels just as much, and is now the owner of a portfolio involving 30,000 issued and pending patents.

“Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of patents filed, particularly in the top five patent offices around the world, putting a substantial burden on those offices and creating a significant backlog,” Eppenauer added. “Working together, we can find ways for these offices to use cutting-edge technology to better share information, and coordinate the examination process.”