IBM has said it received more than 1,700 US patents last year, more than any other company for the fifth straight year, but less than its total for 1996. The computer company's 1,724 patents topped a list dominated by Japanese firms such as Canon, which finished second with 1,378 patents, and NEC, third with 1,095.

Although the total, down from 1,867 in 1996, ended four straight years of patent increases for IBM, the company called it a "statistical anomaly" caused by scheduling at the US Patent Office. It added that the decline in number of patents was unrelated to the level of its spending on research and development.

IBM's patents collectively brought the company about $1 billion in royalties last year, up from $646 million in 1995.