U.S. patent activity declined for the sixth consecutive year in 2025, with Apple slipping to seventh place in patent grants, receiving 2,722, an 11.6% drop from 2024. The total number of patent applications in the U.S. was 393,344, down 8.6% from the previous year. While Samsung Electronics topped the list with 7,054 patents, other significant players included TSMC, Qualcomm, and Huawei. Canon, Toyota, Dell, and LG Electronics followed Apple in the rankings. IBM's fall to 11th place marks a notable shift, ending its 29-year streak in the top 10. The company has shifted its patent strategy away from quantity, focusing instead on key areas like cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Despite the growing demand for AI-related technologies, traditional chip patents saw a 20% decline. However, patents in the H10D category, which covers inorganic semiconductor devices, gained traction, indicating a potential pivot toward next-gen chip technologies. Key players in this category included TSMC, Samsung, IBM, and Intel.