TOP Glove Corporation Bhd’s research and development (R&D) arm, Top Glove International Sdn Bhd, is ranked the country’s second most prolific patent applicant for 2020 by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).

The glove maker said although patent filings were traditionally the domain of the universities, Top Glove International’s achievement reflected the trend of increasing industry-based R&D and the company’s commitment to produce inventions, innovations and continuous enhancement.

“Top Glove will continue to intensify its investment in R&D, artificial intelligence and digitalisation in view of which the company will continue to recruit more talents for its growing R&D team to advance its journey towards Industry 4.0,” it said in a statement today.

Last year, the group’s R&D centres filed for 52 patents in Malaysia and 97 patents overseas related to gloves, formers, dental dams, and, chemicals for the manufacture of gloves and automation systems.

Top Glove, which owns more than 300 intellectual properties (IPs) at home and abroad has nine R&D centres in Malaysia and Thailand, each of them focusing and specialising in different areas of research development.

It said these centres collectively employed about 1,000 researchers mainly engineers, chemists and scientists, comprising over 40 PhD graduates, over 100 master’s degree holders and over 700 bachelor’s degree holders.

“These centres continue to spearhead ongoing multidisciplinary research to consolidate and adapt to the rapidly shifting global market trends while creating new developments for its high quality and lifesaving gloves, and other personal protective equipment,” it said.

According to MyIPO, the top five patent applicants in Malaysia for 2020 are, in the following order, MIMOS Bhd, Top Glove International, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaya,  oand Petroliam Nasional Bhd. – Bernama, February 15, 2021.