OREANDA-NEWS. SABIC has passed the milestone of having more than 10,000 patents either issued or pending approval, making it the largest owner of intellectual property in the Middle East.

SABIC has also significantly increased the rate at which it obtains patents with 2013 seeing a record 373 patent applications filed by the company, a rise of over 300% from the figure in 2010. 2014 could see a further increase with 159 new patent applications applied for in just the first three months of the year.

On average, SABIC files a new patent application every 18 hours, each based on the work of approximately four researchers. This represents greater efficiency than any other top ten company in the chemical industry.

“Intellectual property is an important tool to help SABIC achieve its business goals,” said Ernesto Occhiello, SABIC Executive Vice President, Technology and Innovation. “Our 10,400 global patent dockets are a reflection of our emphasis on innovation to support our growth,” Occhiello said, pointing out that SABIC also has over 550 active disclosures under review.

John Abokhair, SABIC Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, said “Our patent estate is used as one of several indicators to measure our return on investment in our research and development effort. We apply a 'value-add' analysis to make sure that our IP estate is used as a tool to help push our business forward. Our teams work closely with our technology and business leaders to maximize the value we gain from our innovation through strategic intellectual property protection.”