TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — For the first time, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) applied for more than 1,000 patents in a six-month period, reports said Tuesday (July 27).

According to a list drawn up by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the world’s leading contract chipmaker applied for 1,263 patents between January and June, a rise of 237% over the same period last year.

TSMC’s patent applications were all related to inventions, and the number for the first half of the year amounted to a record for the company, UDN reported. In contrast, the number of applications from universities showed a slight decline, with National Yang Ming Jiao Tong University leading the category with 59 patents for inventions.

Among foreign companies registering patents in Taiwan, Japanese businesses were the most active, applying for 6,044 inventions. However, the single most frequent applicant was chipmaker Qualcomm of the United States, listing 454 patents, a rise of 49% from the first half of 2020.