“The law firm that won the most utility patents in 2021 has again taken the No. 1 spot in 2022, with nearly 5,200 secured utility patents, according to a new report from Harrity Patent Analytics.
Fish & Richardson PC increased the number of patents secured by the firm by 4% in 2022, obtaining 5,186 patents compared to 2021’s 5,004, according to Harrity’s 2022 Top Patent Firms. Sughrue Mion PLC and Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt LLP again rounded out the top three.
‘The list demonstrates which patent firms are still big players, while providing insight for both clients and firms to make strategic decisions moving forward,’ Rocky Berndsen, the head of Harrity Patent Analytics, said in a statement.”
“International Business Machines Corp. dropped from the top spot for US patents in 2022, the first time in decades Big Blue hasn’t claimed the most in a year, signaling a strategy shift at the longtime intellectual property leader,” the article begins.
“IBM’s patent count declined 44% to 4,743 patents in 2022, falling to No. 2 behind Samsung Electronics Co.’s 8,513, according to Harrity LLP’s Patent 300 list. Technologies such as semiconductors and hardware memory saw the largest drop in IBM patents, though the reduction was across all major types.”
A recent article by Angela Morris for IAM features patent data and insight from Rocky Berndsen, Head of the Harrity Patent Analytics Team. Using the annual Patent 300® report, Rocky provides reasoning for the apparent decline in patents from major players since the start of Covid.
“The slide in patent grants means something, according to Rocky Berndsen, head of patent analytics at Harrity & Harrity, which conducted the data analysis.
First, it could be indicative of changing prosecution patterns. ‘Thinking back, 2020 was the covid year. It was really when it started hitting and we all had the shut-downs. But some of the impact is showing in the 2021 data. We had a drop-off in 2021 as a result of what was happening in 2020. There is a lag that happens in the patent field with filings and prosecution budgets,’ explains Berndsen.”
A recent article by Brian Womack, Staff Writer for Dallas Business Journal, referred to data and expertise from Rocky Berndsen and the Harrity Patent Analytics Team’s Patent 300® report over the decline in patents from wireless conglomerate AT&T.
“AT&T lost some ground with patent numbers, a report shows — though an executive said fluctuations aren’t anything new. The company saw the number of utility patents issued fall 26% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the Patent 300 List by Harrity Patent Analytics. The Dallas telecommunications giant’s ranking slipped to No. 36 from the No. 27 spot in the previous year, according to Rocky Berndsen, head of patent analytics at Harrity & Harrity,” Womack begins.
Visual Capitalist is one of the fastest growing online publishers globally, focused on topics including markets, technology, energy and the global economy, making data more accessible through infographics that simplify the high volume of data sources and show readers the bigger picture.
Harrity is honored to be featured in one of the latest Visual Capitalist’s datastreams, Visualizing Companies with the Most Patents Granted in 2021, by Raul Amoros.
“Companies around the world invest billions in R&D to provide cutting-edge innovation to their products and services. In order to protect these investments, companies apply for patents. Therefore, the number of utility patents a company is granted can be considered a rough measure of its level of innovation.
Every year, the Patent 300 List identifies America’s most innovative companies within the intellectual property space by analyzing the patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
In 2021, the USPTO granted a total of 327,798 utility patents, down 7% from the previous year. Let’s take a look at which companies generated the most patents in 2021.”
Does filing a Track One prioritized examination request increase the chances of getting a patent? I discussed this idea in a recent Practical Patents video, and below is a chart of the data broken down by USPTO technology center.
Track One applications have a higher allowance rate compared to non-Track One applications across all technology centers, ranging from a 7% boost to a 21% boost.
The boost from Track One is particularly significant (16%-21%) in technology areas with lower allowance rates, like chemical, biotech, and business methods.
Of course, correlation is not causation. Does filing a Track One request boost the chances of getting a patent, or are patent applications that already have a higher chance of success being filed with Track One requests?
My guess: it’s a bit of both.
What do you think?
Learn more about our patent analytics capabilities by visiting the Harrity Analytics site HERE.
If you had a patent application with a particular Examiner and these were the only statistics that you had regarding the Examiner, what could you tell about this Examiner?
I can tell a number of things about this Examiner from these statistics. Here are some of the things I would know about this Examiner:
1. The Examiner is a more senior patent examiner with about 10 or 11 years of experience (assuming that the 40 patents that the Examiner issued last year is their average).
2. The Examiner allows a lot more applications than the Examiner abandons (i.e., the Examiner issued 40 patents last year compared to 2 abandonments). So, this seems like someone who I can work with to get to an allowance.
3. The Examiner allows more applications than the average patent examiner in the Examiner’s art unit (i.e., the Examiner’s 95% allowance rate is higher than the art unit average of 90%). Further, the Examiner has issued more than half of the patents issued by the entire art unit so far this year (i.e., the Examiner issued 18 patents YTD, compared to the 33 patents issued by the entire art unit). This is further evidence that this is someone who I can work with to get to an allowance.
4. The Examiner’s allowance rate of 95% for the entire prior year implies that this is a patent examiner who might be willing to work with applicants to move an application towards allowance.
What else do you see?
You can get FREE examiner analytics today – right now. Go to www.patentprufer.com and sign up today.
Learn more about our patent analytics capabilities by visiting the Harrity Analytics site HERE.
Medical devices are a $432 billion dollar global industry and here are the top 20 companies patenting in the US. Overall, these companies obtained 8% fewer patents in 2021 compared to 2020. Most of these companies are filing first in the US, with Philips as an exception.
Over 40% of the patents issued are continuations, Considering that the average number of continuations in 2021 was 23%, this shows the strategic continuation patenting in the medical device space.
Of note is the variability in the average office actions per patent and RCEs per patent statistics in the medical device space. The highest office actions per patent is 2.4 and the lowest is 1.3. The highest RCEs per patent is 0.8 and the lowest is 0.3.
Kudos to Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Philips, Boston Scientific, Stryker, Abbott, BD, SHIMADZU CORPORATION, Intuitive, and Baxter International Inc. for making the top 10!
Learn more about our patent analytics capabilities by visiting the Harrity Analytics site HERE.
Business Method patents are alive and well! Here is a list of the top 25 companies that obtained patents in 2021 in the business method art units at the USPTO.
Surprisingly, this is one of the few areas where we see year over year growth in patenting. This increase in patenting may be due to the sea change that we’ve seen in how the USPTO has handled the prosecution of business method patents.
There is some interesting variation in the patent prosecution metrics for companies obtaining patents in this space. This list is a who’s who of high-technology and fin-tech companies.
I’m surprised to see that significant percentage of patents in this space that are con/div.
What do you think? Find me on Linkedinand let me know your thoughts!
Want to see more interesting patent analytics? Check out our newest Patent 300® list here!
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
By Rocky Berndsen, Head of Harrity Patent Analytics
One of my favorite ways to look at patent data is by comparing the data to sales, revenues, and R&D. Here are the top Auto Manufacturers that obtained patents in the US. I’ve included data from our patent database, and from www.goodcarbadcar.com.
This stat is interesting – Cars Sold to Patents. There could be a couple of insights drawn from this stat.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1. How much does a company value patenting – a higher ratio may indicate that the company places less value on patenting.
2. How much are patents playing in driving sales – a lower ratio may indicate that patents play a bigger role in driving sales
3. Which companies are innovating the most in the space relative to market size – using cars sold to normalize the quantity of patents provides a more direct benchmark.
Connect with me on Linkedin and let me know your thoughts on this statistic and what other kinds of stats you’d find interesting.
You can find more patent data on the top companies by viewing our Patent 300® List HERE.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
HARRITY PATENT ANALYTICS ANNOUNCES THE TOP PATENT FIRMS OF 2021
WASHINGTON (January 20, 2022) – Harrity Patent Analytics is excited to announce the Top Patent Firms of 2021. The list, published annually, ranks industry-leading patent law firms based on the total number of U.S. utility patents issued in the past year.
The 2021 Top Patent Firms list incorporates multiple categories of prosecution statistics, including 7 new categories, such as rank in US First Filings and rank in Foreign Priority Filings.
Fish & Richardson surpasses Oblon for the first time in list history, taking the #1 spot in both overall and US first filings. Other notable changes on the list include Kilpatrick Townsend dropping from the #7 spot to #11, and Foley & Lardner moving up from #8 to #5. Some newcomers to the list in 2021 include Kacvinsky Daisak Bluni at #109, and Fig. 1 Patents at #282.
The Top 10 firms of 2021 in overall utility patents are:
Fish & Richardson P.C. (5025)
Oblon McClelland Maier & Neustadt LLP (4620)
Sughrue Mion PLC (4398)
Cantor Colburn LLP (3652)
Foley & Lardner LLP (3416)
Oliff PLC (3297)
Birch Stewart Kolach & Birch LLP (3250)
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP (3014)
Shwegman Lundberg & Woessner P.A. (2995)
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC (2963)
“The differences on this year’s Top Patent Firm rankings align with what we saw on the Patent 300®, with big companies filing less patents than in previous years, and therefore the law firms doing their work obtaining less patents – likely due to budgetary restraints imposed by the ongoing pandemic. The list demonstrates which patent firms are still big players, while providing insight for both clients and firms to make strategic decisions moving forward,” states Rocky Berndsen, Head of Harrity Patent Analytics.
The Top Patent Firms list is accompanied by an interactive dashboard and includes patent firms that have obtained at least 50 U.S. utility patents where the patent firms are listed on the front of the utility patents. Company legal departments have not been eliminated from the list. The full list is available here.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
HARRITY PATENT ANALYTICS RELEASES THE 2022 DESIGN PATENT 100 LIST
List ranks top 100 companies, organizations, and universities in the design patent field
WASHINGTON (January 11, 2022) – Harrity Patent Analytics has released the 2022 publication of its annual Design Patent 100 List. The list ranks the top 100 companies, organizations and universities in the patent field based on the total number of U.S. design patents issued in the past year. The top 10 innovators from the 2022 Design Patent 100 List include:
Samsung (615)
Nike (541)
Apple (438)
LG (220)
Ford (210)
Alphabet (209)
MASCO Corporation (194)
Tata Sons (159)
Porsche (152)
P&G (141)
Samsung Electronics surpassed Nike to take the #1 spot, with a 4% increase from last year. Nike dropped to the #2 position with a 22% decrease from last year. Overall, this year’s Top 10 saw an average 1% decrease from the previous year. Other notable changes include MASCO Corporation’s debut to the Top 10, ranking 7th with a 59% increase, and Spigen Inc, dropping off the Top 10 to #12, with a 46% decrease. Bissell Homecare had the largest increase in design patents since 2020, at 1500%.
“The Design Patent 100 List identifies the global innovation leaders obtaining design patents in the United States,” said Rocky Berndsen, Head of Analytics for Harrity & Harrity. “The data contained in the Patent 300® Dashboard, such as the Design Patent 100 List, provides invaluable information to companies, in-house counsel, marketing teams, and law firms alike because it identifies the key players in design innovation and summarizes what is happening today in the patent world.”
For detailed analytics on the Design Patent 100, visit Harrity’s Patent 300® Dashboard, the intellectual property industry’s premier resource for patent insights and competitive intelligence on the world’s leaders in technology and design innovation. The Dashboard contains analytics on more than 6,000,000 patents, including patent portfolio analyses, detailed patent prosecution insights, technology area breakdowns, and portfolio cost and budget analytics.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
One of the stats I find most interesting in the patent field is the office action per patent statistic. There can be so many reasons why this statistic could vary so greatly from company to company. Here are a few of my ideas on the factors that go into it.
1. Filing strategy / Claim breadth – some filers will fight tooth and nail for every claim, whereas, other filers are just trying to get to allowance as quickly as possible.
2. Technology area – some technology areas may be more difficult to get patents in for a number of reasons (e.g., quality prior art, large numbers of filings, patentability issues).
3. Prosecution quality – the quality of prosecution quality varies from firm to firm, and even from attorney to attorney.
4. Foreign priority – apps with foreign priority tend to have fewer office actions per patent and typically will have fewer claims.
5. Budget/Cost consideration – prosecution strategy may be impacted by budget and therefore applications that reach higher numbers of office actions or RCEs may be abandoned.
6. Continuation strategy – continuation filings will tend to have fewer office actions than original priority filings.
Below, you can see the Patent 300® Companies with the highest and lowest office actions per patent.
I’d love to hear if you have any additional thoughts on the factors that go into these OA statistics.
The official 2022 ranking of the top 300 companies, organizations and universities can be found here. You can find more information regarding prosecution statistics in the interactive Patent 300® Dashboard here.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
Law360 publishes report based on Harrity Analytic’s annual Patent 300® List.
Law360 (January 6, 2022, 7:42 PM EST) — IBM Corp. maintained its long-running status as the top patent owner in 2021 while Samsung clocked in close behind, but patent grants to companies that notched a spot on the list highlighting the top 300 patent owners released Thursday were largely down…
Rocky Berndsen, head of patent analytics at Harrity & Harrity, told Law360 in an interview that the drops in patent grants in 2021 can be partly attributed to budget considerations spurred by the pandemic.
“Anecdotally, what we can see from this year’s list is that some companies have been more strategic with what patent applications they continued to prosecute in light of those budget considerations,” Berndsen said. “Maybe last year, or the year before, they would’ve filed or prosecuted more applications. But they decided to drop some, and so we’re seeing the results of that in this year’s list.”
But there were some companies that landed on the list for the first time, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. at 275. Berndsen said that reflects growth happening in the fintech world.
“There’s a lot of technology development in fintech, and we’re seeing a lot of that with a company like JPMorgan Chase making the list for the first time this year,” he said.
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
HARRITY PATENT ANALYTICS RELEASES THE 2022 PATENT 300® LIST
Top 300 innovators in the patent field ranked by patents obtained
WASHINGTON (January 6, 2022) – Harrity Patent Analytics is excited to announce the release the 2022 Patent 300® List. The annual list ranks the top 300 companies, organizations and universities in the patent field based on the total number of U.S. utility patents issued in the past twelve months. The top 20 players from the newly published Patent 300® List include:
IBM (8540)
Samsung Electronics (8517)
LG Corporation (4388)
Canon (3400)
Huawei (2955)
Intel (2835)
TSMC (2807)
Toyota (2753)
Raytheon Technologies (2694)
Sony (2624)
Apple (2591)
Microsoft (2453)
Qualcomm (2165)
BOE Technology (2141)
Amazon (2110)
Dell Technologies (2053)
Alphabet (2015)
Micron (1798)
Panasonic (1715)
Ford (1675)
IBM maintains the top spot in the list despite a significant drop in total patents with their spin-off of Kyndryl. Notably, TSMC, Qualcomm, and Micron moved up the list, whereas Microsoft and Raytheon Technologies moved lower. The biggest overall change in the list is the fact that total patents obtained by the Patent 300® was 22,358 fewer in 2021 than in 2020. The list accounts for 54 percent of the more than 340,000 U.S. patents issued in 2021.
“The Patent 300® list, year after year, provides a barometer for the most innovative companies in the world”, says Rocky Berndsen, Head of Patent Analytics at Harrity & Harrity. “You can really see who is innovating in dozens of different industries and also see who the up-and-coming technology companies are”.
Harrity Patent Analytics additionally offers the Patent 300® Dashboard for more detailed analytics on the Patent 300® List. The dashboard is the intellectual property industry’s premier resource for patent insights and competitive intelligence on the world’s leaders in technology, containing analytics on more than 6,000,000 patents, including patent portfolio analyses, detailed patent prosecution insights, technology area breakdowns, and portfolio cost and budget analytics.
The Patent 300® Dashboard provides in-house counsel, law firm partners, marketing teams, and c-suite executives with a detailed analysis of the world’s technology leaders, ranging from technology giants such as IBM (ranked #1) and Samsung (ranked #2), to leading universities such as MIT (ranked #108) and Johns Hopkins University (ranked #276), to newcomers including Kyndryl (ranked #117) and Snowflake (ranked #276).
The official 2022 ranking of the top 300 companies, organizations and universities can be found here.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
Rocky Berndsen, Head of Analytics for Harrity & Harrity, shows how to use patent prosecution data found in the interactive Patent 300® Dashboard for gap analysis & maintenance fee strategy to reach your business goals.
“The data contained in the Patent 300® Dashboard provides invaluable information to companies, in-house counsel and law firms because it identifies the key players in design innovation and summarizes what is happening today in the patent world.”
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
HARRITY PATENT ANALYTICS RELEASES THE 2021 DESIGN PATENT 100 LIST
List ranks top 100 companies, organizations, and universities in the design patent field
WASHINGTON (March 3, 2021) – Harrity Patent Analytics today released the publication of its inaugural Design Patent 100 List. The list ranks the top 100 companies, organizations and universities in the patent field based on the total number of U.S. design patents. The top 10 from the Design Patent 100 List includes:
Nike (691)
Samsung (589)
Apple (361)
LG (327)
Alphabet (267)
Ford (222)
Tata Sons (202)
Spigen (176)
P&G (150)
Porsche (135)
For detailed analytics on the Design Patent 100, visit Harrity’s Patent 300® Dashboard, the intellectual property industry’s premier resource for patent insights and competitive intelligence on the world’s leaders in technology and design innovation. The Dashboard contains analytics on more than 6,000,000 patents, including patent portfolio analyses, detailed patent prosecution insights, technology area breakdowns, and portfolio cost and budget analytics.
“The Design Patent 100 List identifies the global innovation leaders obtaining design patents in the United States,” said Rocky Berndsen, Head of Analytics for Harrity & Harrity. “The data contained in the Patent 300® Dashboard, such as the Design Patent 100 List, provides invaluable information to companies, in-house counsel and law firms because it identifies the key players in design innovation and summarizes what is happening today in the patent world.”
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
Patent Analytics In Action – Using The Patent 300® Dashboard
January 19, 2021 – Rocky Berndsen, Head of Analytics at Harrity, gave a webinar on how companies and law firms can use the Patent 300® Dashboard to understand their own portfolio, their competitors, and the patent field in general. A video of the entire webinar can be found below.
The demonstration included a deep dive into how to analyze the technology breakdown for a company’s patent portfolio, and how to benchmark patent prosecution statistics across companies patenting in the same technology areas. Rocky demonstrated how companies and law firms can use the “Company By Law Firm” report to benchmark the patent practice efficiency of the outside counsel that are prosecuting the patent applications for a company.
The webinar then transitioned to a cost-based analytics report called the “Company by Costs”, which gives users the ability to customize the analysis by selecting their own outside counsel fees. The report provides users with an “Average Cost Per Patent” value by law firm, that users can use to benchmark outside counsel performance, and identify areas within the practice to reduce cost and practice more efficiently.
The “Gap Analysis” demonstration showed how easy it can be to compare the patent portfolios of two companies with the click of a button. In-house counsel use this report to easily visualize two portfolios side by side and identify whitespaces and portfolio overlap.
The webinar then transitioned to how law firms can use the dashboard for law firm client development and new client business development. Using the “Law Firm by Client” report, law firms can visualize all of their patent prosecution statistics for a given client to identify strengths and weaknesses that can be used to promote their firm’s services to their clients and to make modifications to their current practice to deliver better services.
For detailed analytics on the patent field, Harrity Patent Analytics makes available the Patent 300® Dashboard, the intellectual property industry’s premier resource for patent insights and competitive intelligence on the world’s leaders in technology. It contains analytics on more than 6,000,000 patents, including patent portfolio analyses, detailed patent prosecution insights, technology area breakdowns, and portfolio cost and budget analytics.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
HARRITY PATENT ANALYTICS RELEASES THE 2021 PATENT 300® LIST
List ranks top 300 companies, organizations, and universities in the patent field
WASHINGTON (January 15, 2021) – Harrity Patent Analytics today released the publication of its inaugural Patent 300® List. The list ranks the top 300 companies, organizations and universities in the patent field based on the total number of U.S. utility patents. The top 10 from the Patent 300® List includes:
IBM (9435)
Samsung (8539)
LG Corporation (5112)
Canon (3689)
Intel (3284)
Raytheon Technologies (3213)
Huawei (3178)
Microsoft (2972)
TSMC (2892)
Sony (2886)
For detailed analytics on the Patent 300®, Harrity Patent Analytics makes available the Patent 300® Dashboard, the intellectual property industry’s premier resource for patent insights and competitive intelligence on the world’s leaders in technology. It contains analytics on more than 6,000,000 patents, including patent portfolio analyses, detailed patent prosecution insights, technology area breakdowns, and portfolio cost and budget analytics.
The Patent 300® Dashboard provides in-house counsel, law firm partners, and c-suite executives with a detailed analysis of the world’s technology leaders, ranging from technology giants such as IBM (ranked #1) and Samsung (ranked #2), to leading universities such as MIT (ranked #106) and Johns Hopkins University (ranked #232), to newcomers including Palantir (ranked #248) and Techtronic Industries (ranked #278). The list represents 54 percent of the more than 350,000 U.S. patents issued in 2020.
“The Patent 300® List identifies the global technology leaders obtaining patents in the United States,” said Rocky Berndsen, Head of Analytics for Harrity & Harrity. “The data contained in the Patent 300® Dashboard is invaluable information to companies, in-house counsel and law firms because it identifies the key players and summarizes what is happening today in the patent world.”
A ranking of the top 300 companies, organizations and universities can be found here.
About Harrity Patent Analytics
Harrity Patent Analytics, an analytical team within the boutique IP law firm of Harrity & Harrity, LLP, uses cutting-edge capabilities to analyze patent data and extract insights for clients to use when making strategic decisions regarding patent portfolios. Patent 300® companies rely on Harrity Patent Analytics services to understand their patent portfolios, the patent portfolios of their competitors, and patent office trends around the world. For more information, visit harrityllp.com/services/patent-analytics/.
How have the number of patent claims and patent figures changed over time?
Let’s let the numbers speak for themselves. I recommend that you use the full screen mode for this visualization. Click on the full screen icon on the right.
The interactive visualization above provides a clear indication that at a high level for US utility patents, the average number of claims have gone down over time, while the average number of figures have gone up. In 2005, the average number of claims per patent was 18.83, while the average number of figures was 12.04. Compare that to 2019, where the average number of claims per patent was 16.22, and the average number of figures was 14.84.
The reasons for these changes are open to interpretation but the data shows some very interesting outliers to the averages when you slice the data by art unit. For example, when you look at the business method art units of 3621-3629, the data shows the exact opposite from the entire patent field as a whole. In 2006, the average number of claims per patent was 24.83, and the average number of figures was 17.00.
The xml data powering the Power BI visualization above is automatically downloaded weekly by our patent analytics system from the USPTO using the Bulk Data Storage System.
To learn more about how you can use patent analytics to inform your practice, visit our Patent Analytics website HERE.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Included are processes for manufacturing semiconductors and solid-state devices. Also included are processes and apparatus for addressing, accessing and controlling, and forming memory addresses in a computer or digital data processing system.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Semiconductors and Memory area, shown below in Chart 2, include Taiwan Semiconductor (#1), Samsung Electronics (#2), International Business Machines (#3), Micron Technology (#4), and others. Taiwan Semiconductor again tops the list having obtained 1,807 US patents. Samsung had 1,592 US patents, up 5% from 2018. IBM, at 1,364, was up 3% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector. Included are chip makers, device makers, and various electronics companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Semiconductors and Memory
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Semiconductor and Memory Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Semiconductor and Memory Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Taiwan Semiconductor
1807
77%
1972
-8%
2
Samsung Electronics
1592
18%
1522
5%
3
International Business Machines
1364
14%
1318
3%
4
Micron Technology
864
68%
645
34%
5
Mubadala Investment
554
72%
593
-7%
6
BOE Technology Group
504
23%
387
30%
7
Intel
471
13%
377
25%
8
SK Hynix
442
55%
468
-6%
9
Toshiba Memory
427
59%
419
2%
10
Infineon Technologies
343
40%
392
-13%
11
Semiconductor Energy Lab
321
46%
478
-33%
12
United Microelectronics
313
89%
318
-2%
13
LG Display
271
31%
224
21%
14
Renesas Electronics
266
50%
320
-17%
15
Western Digital
265
36%
215
23%
16
China Star Optoelectronics
235
35%
5
4600%
17
STMicroelectronics
224
30%
249
-10%
18
Sony
201
8%
197
2%
19
SMIC
198
84%
133
49%
20
Osram Licht
194
50%
142
37%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Included are electrical systems and devices, covering a broad spectrum of electrical and electromagnetic systems, devices, and circuitry, as well as electrical connectors.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Electrical Circuits and Systems area, shown in Chart 2, include Murata Manufacturing (#1), Samsung Electronics (#2), Mitsubishi Electric (#3), Sumitomo Electric (#4), and others. Murata again tops the list having obtained 571 US patents, up 25% from 2018. Samsung had 529 US patents, up 16% from last year. Mitsubishi Electric, at 358, was up 6% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector. Included are device makers, chip makers, and auto makers, and various manufacturing companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Electrical Circuits and Systems
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Electrical Circuits and Systems Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Electrical Circuits and Systems Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Murata Manufacturing
571
61%
457
25%
2
Samsung Electronics
529
6%
456
16%
3
Mitsubishi Electric
358
27%
337
6%
4
Sumitomo Electric
349
51%
226
54%
5
Texas Instruments
309
34%
211
46%
6
Intel
281
8%
283
-1%
7
Apple
276
11%
278
-1%
8
Panasonic
274
13%
280
-2%
9
General Electric
258
9%
285
-9%
10
Samsung Electro-Mechanics
257
67%
214
20%
11
Yazaki
241
64%
238
1%
12
TE Connectivity
238
74%
208
14%
13
Toyota
237
9%
246
-4%
14
Siemens
223
14%
209
7%
15
Denso
220
18%
226
-3%
15
International Business Machines
220
2%
249
-12%
17
United Technologies
214
8%
164
30%
18
Infineon Technologies
212
25%
221
-4%
19
Eaton
209
45%
184
14%
20
Hitachi
195
13%
180
8%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Chart 1 shows the Multiplex and VoIP technology area ranked 3rd largest in 2019, with 10,824 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the US. Multiplex and VoIP technology covers United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to simultaneous transmission of two or more information signals in either or both directions over the same transmission medium. Transmission in this manner allows discrete recovery of information signals.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Multiplex and VoIP area, shown in Chart 2, are large global technology companies. They include Huawei (#1), LG Electronics(#2), Ericsson (#3), Qualcomm (#4), and others. A 39% increase from 2018 propelled Huawei to the top of the list this year with 1,226 US patents. LG Electronics had a 26% increase over 2018 at 1,123 US patents. Ericsson, at 878, was up 18% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector. Included are device makers, chip makers, and telecommunications companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Multiplex and VoIP
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Multiplex and VoIP Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Multiplex and VoIP Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Huawei
1226
42%
882
39%
2
LG Electronics
1123
40%
894
26%
3
Ericsson
878
54%
747
18%
4
Qualcomm
833
35%
719
16%
5
Samsung Electronics
689
8%
611
13%
6
Intel
502
14%
542
-7%
7
Cisco Systems
378
36%
304
24%
8
Nokia
305
34%
303
1%
9
AT&T
275
19%
240
15%
10
Sony
273
10%
201
36%
11
NEC
218
22%
179
22%
12
Apple
201
8%
187
7%
13
ZTE
171
41%
181
-6%
14
International Business Machines
160
2%
209
-23%
15
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
148
18%
85
74%
16
Dell
146
6%
163
-10%
17
Sharp
139
16%
122
14%
18
Juniper Networks
137
46%
132
4%
18
Softbank
137
22%
212
-35%
20
Fujitsu
134
10%
173
-23%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Chart 1 shows the Printing or Measuring, and Testing technology area ranked 4th largest in 2019. There were 10,383 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the US. Printing or Measuring and Testing cover United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to Printing and Measuring Technology, respectively.
Printing patents include means adapted to produce characters or designs on surfaces by the impression of types or dies. Also included is applying coating material through the openings of a covering pattern sheet, such as stenciling. Printing patents also cover impression from graphic or intaglio surfaces. These patents include organizations using a design or character dies that emboss, burn, or perforate, and that apply ink.
Measuring and Testing is the generic class for processes and apparatus for measuring of any kind or for any testing. It includes all subjects not provided for in other classes. The term “test” includes inspection, processes, and apparatus for examination or review not covered by other classes. This class is the generic class for sampling and consists of all sampling apparatus and processes not otherwise classified.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Printing or Measuring and Testing area, shown in Chart 2, are large global technology companies. They include Canon (#1), Seiko Epson (#2), Brother (#3), Siemens (#4), and others. Canon tops the list having obtained 1,009 US patents, up 20% from 2018. Seiko Epson had 493 US patents, a 1% decrease from last year. Brother Industries, at 462, was up 31% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector. Included are device makers and software producers, auto makers, and electronics companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Printing or Measuring and Testing
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Printing/Measuring and Testing Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Printing/Measuring and Testing Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Canon
1009
25%
843
20%
2
Seiko Epson
493
37%
496
-1%
3
Brother Industries
462
59%
353
31%
4
Siemens
346
21%
266
30%
5
HP Inc.
336
35%
310
8%
6
International Business Machines
273
3%
239
14%
7
General Electric
258
9%
212
22%
8
Samsung Electronics
244
3%
187
30%
9
Kyocera
241
22%
273
-12%
10
Toshiba
236
16%
263
-10%
11
Ricoh Company
232
23%
292
-21%
12
Halliburton
225
20%
124
81%
13
Konica Minolta
205
31%
174
18%
14
Fujifilm
186
14%
193
-4%
14
Schlumberger
186
22%
88
111%
16
Robert Bosch
138
11%
165
-16%
17
Cadence Design Systems
135
69%
55
145%
18
Honeywell
130
10%
70
86%
19
Hitachi
123
8%
114
8%
20
Intel
122
3%
79
54%
Printing or Measuring and Testing is an important technology area in the patent world with over 10,000 US patents in 2019 alone. Printing or Measuring and Testing technology affects companies in many industries around the globe. For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® Report details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Chart 1 shows the Optics technology area ranked the 5th largest in 2019. There were 9,830 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the US. Optics covers the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications for apparatus and corresponding processes used for storing and retrieving optical or magneto-optical information. The basis of the technology is relative movement between an optical storage carrier or medium and a transducer along a continuous path.
The class includes apparatus and corresponding processes for making copies or editing optical records, falling within the above definition. It includes the transfer medium having a specific information storage structure. The scope of the Optics technology class overlaps with other classes and subclasses. It is an integral part of the class of patents covering Dynamic Information Storage or Retrieval.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Optics area, shown in Chart 2, are large global technology companies. They include Samsung Electronics (#1), BOE Technology (#2), Canon (#3), ASML Holdings (#4), and others. Samsung tops the list having obtained 665 US patents, a 1% decrease from 2018. BOE Technology had 436 US patents, a 34% increase from 2018. Canon, at 406, was up 11% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Optics
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Optics Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Optics Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Samsung Electronics
665
8%
672
-1%
2
BOE Technology Group
436
20%
326
34%
3
Canon
406
10%
366
11%
4
ASML Holdings
277
87%
216
28%
5
Japan Display
225
33%
198
14%
6
Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung
208
57%
246
-15%
7
Panasonic
201
10%
201
0%
8
Corning
183
33%
136
35%
9
Fujifilm
182
13%
147
24%
10
Hitachi
166
11%
124
34%
11
Commscope
163
29%
115
42%
12
Nikon
154
56%
150
3%
13
Sony
143
5%
122
17%
14
Seiko Epson
139
10%
184
-24%
15
LG Display
138
16%
118
17%
16
International Business Machines
128
1%
126
2%
17
TCL
123
21%
248
-50%
17
Valeo
123
30%
74
66%
19
AAC Technologies
122
53%
47
160%
19
Sharp
122
14%
98
24%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Chart 1 shows the Selective Visual Display Systems technology area ranked 6th largest in 2019. Selective Visual Display Systems covers United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to processes and apparatus for selective, electrical control of two or more light-generating or light-controlling display elements. Processes and devices under these classifications use received or stored image data signal. The image data includes character, graphical information, or display attribute data. Image data sources may consist of peripheral input devices, television signals, image data recognition, or computers.
This class also includes digital data processing systems or methods for visual presentation. Data processing consists of the creation or manipulation of graphic objects (e.g., artificial images), or text. The class includes telegraphy subclasses for digitizing writing tablets, styluses, and circuits.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Selective Visual Display Systems area, shown in Chart 2, are large global technology companies. They include Samsung Electronics (#1), BOE Technology Group (#2), Canon (#3), Sony (#4), and others. Samsung tops the list having obtained 1108 US patents, up 22% from 2018. BOE Technology had a 27% increase from 2018 at 612 US patents. Newcomer to the Patent 300®, China Star Optoelectronics, at 240 patents, was up 11900% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the technology sector. Included are device manufacturers, software, and media companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Selective Visual Display Systems
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Selective Visual Display Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Selective Visual Display Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Samsung Electronics
1108
13%
909
22%
2
BOE Technology Group
612
28%
481
27%
3
Canon
450
11%
43
947%
4
Sony
428
16%
184
133%
5
Apple
342
14%
258
33%
6
LG Display
341
39%
241
41%
7
Japan Display
293
43%
215
36%
8
China Star Optoelectronics
240
35%
2
11900%
9
Microsoft
201
6%
154
31%
10
TCL
177
30%
308
-43%
11
LG Electronics
128
5%
92
39%
12
Alphabet
119
5%
70
70%
13
Facebook
114
9%
51
124%
14
Semiconductor Energy Lab
113
16%
94
20%
15
Sharp
111
13%
89
25%
16
Seiko Epson
106
8%
96
10%
17
Olympus
100
14%
4
2400%
17
Panasonic
100
5%
80
25%
19
Tianma Microelectronics
97
53%
61
59%
20
Synaptics
85
56%
116
-27%
Selective Visual Display Systems is an important technology area in the patent world with over 7,338 US patents in 2019 alone. Selective Visual Display Systems technology affects companies in many industries around the globe. For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
Chart 1 shows Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems ranked as the 7th largest technology area in 2019, with 5,951 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the US. Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems covers several United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications.
Motive Power Systems are systems of electrical supply and/or of control for one or more electric motors. Electrical Systems and Devices, Power Supply or Regulation Systems, Electrothermally or Thermally Actuated Switches, are among the many possible classifications related to this technology area.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems area are shown in Chart 2. United Technologies (#1), General Electric (#2), Ford (#3), and Toyota (#4) each retain their respective positions on the list from the previous year. United Technologies tops the list with 1078 US patents, up 19% from 2018. General Electric had a 22% increase over 2018 at 702 US patents. Ford, at 431, was down 7% from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross-section of the manufacturing, transportation, and technology sectors. Included are automakers and supporting companies, tech companies, and other manufacturers.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Thermal & Combustion Technology Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Thermal & Combustion Technology Patents
Change from 2018 Patents
1
United Technologies
1078
39%
906
19%
2
General Electric
702
24%
574
22%
3
Ford
431
17%
462
-7%
4
Toyota
367
14%
407
-10%
5
Rolls-Royce
328
55%
216
52%
6
General Motors
225
16%
226
0%
7
Safran
215
40%
224
-4%
8
Hyundai Motor
187
12%
251
-25%
9
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
154
34%
138
12%
10
Siemens
142
9%
185
-23%
11
Denso
125
10%
215
-42%
12
Robert Bosch
121
10%
171
-29%
13
Continental
118
23%
96
23%
14
Hitachi
115
7%
81
42%
15
Caterpillar
113
22%
140
-19%
16
Honda Motor
107
10%
87
23%
17
Cummins
90
50%
84
7%
18
Borgwarner
77
41%
91
-15%
18
Porsche
77
11%
60
28%
20
Mazda Motor
73
37%
71
3%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300® details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
As shown in Chart 1, the Computer Networks technology area was the 8th largest technology area in 2019 with over 5,753 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the U.S. The Computer Networks technology area covers United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to electrical computer or digital data processing system or corresponding data processing method including apparatus or steps for transferring data or instruction information between a plurality of computers wherein the computers employ the data or instructions before or after transferring and the employing affects said transfer of data or instruction information.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
When you look at the top companies obtaining patents in the Computer Networks technology area, shown in Chart 2, large global technology companies, such as IBM (#1), Microsoft (#2), Dell (#3), and Amazon (#4), are heavily represented in the data. IBM maintains its #1 position on the list, having obtained 777 U.S. patents in the Computer Networks technology area, despite a 13% decrease from 2018. 8% of IBM’s U.S. patents obtained in 2019 are classified in the Computer Networks technology area. Facebook (#5) has the largest year over year increase in Computer Networks patents at 63%, while Samsung Electronics (#10) had the second largest decrease at -12%. While the companies in the top 20 are all large global technology companies, they cover a range of industries including enterprise IT, social media, telecommunications, consumer electronics, and more.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Computer Networks
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Computer Networks Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Computer Networks Patents
Change from 2018
1
International Business Machines
777
8%
892
-13%
2
Microsoft
383
12%
271
41%
3
Dell
373
15%
276
35%
4
Amazon
359
14%
307
17%
5
Facebook
219
17%
134
63%
6
Alphabet
209
8%
211
-1%
7
Cisco Systems
207
20%
156
33%
8
Huawei
164
6%
107
53%
9
AT&T
161
11%
107
50%
10
Samsung Electronics
135
2%
153
-12%
11
Oracle
124
14%
118
5%
12
Verizon
111
17%
100
11%
13
Tencent Holdings
101
22%
71
42%
14
Ericsson
94
6%
79
19%
15
Intel
85
2%
62
37%
16
Fujitsu
62
5%
45
38%
17
Sony
59
2%
59
0%
18
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
56
7%
47
19%
19
Apple
55
2%
41
34%
20
Canon
53
1%
43
23%
Computer Networks is an important technology area in the patent world with over 5,700 U.S. patents in 2019 alone. Computer Networks technology impacts companies in various industries around the world. For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300®details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S. in 2019 were by Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019, are again dominated by electrical technologies.
As shown in Chart 1, the Cryptography and Security technology area was the 9th largest technology area in 2019 with 5,016 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the U.S. The Cryptography and Security technology area covers United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to secure communications and information security.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
Many of the top 20 companies obtaining patents in the Cryptography and Security technology area, as shown in Chart 2, are large technology companies such as IBM (#1), Amazon (#2), Microsoft (#3), and Dell (#4). IBM maintains its strong lead in the list having obtained 636 U.S. patents in the Cryptography and Security technology area, despite a 2% decrease from 2018. Capital One (#11) is on the move in the Cryptography and Security technology space with 97 patents in 2019, a 646% increase from 2018.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Cryptography and Security
Rank
Patent 300®
2019 Cryptography Patents
% of Company's 2019 US Patents
2018 Cryptography Patents
Change from 2018
1
International Business Machines
636
7%
647
-2%
2
Amazon
293
12%
252
16%
3
Microsoft
254
8%
199
28%
4
Dell
249
10%
257
-3%
5
Intel
207
6%
219
-5%
6
Samsung Electronics
148
2%
123
20%
7
Cisco Systems
143
14%
110
30%
8
Broadcom
127
21%
45
182%
9
Bank of America
107
26%
89
20%
10
Alphabet
100
4%
119
-16%
11
Capital One Financial
97
16%
13
646%
12
Apple
92
4%
73
26%
13
Huawei
90
3%
56
61%
14
AT&T
83
6%
83
0%
15
Alibaba Group Holding
68
22%
30
127%
15
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
68
8%
29
134%
15
Oracle
68
8%
57
19%
18
Visa
62
26%
43
44%
19
Canon
58
1%
47
23%
20
Ericsson
55
3%
47
17%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
The 2020 Patent 300®details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 56% of patents obtained in the U.S.in 2019 wereby Patent 300® companies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 47% of the 189,796 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300® companies in 2019,are again dominated by electrical technologies.
As shown in Chart 1, the Telecommunications technology area was the 10th largest technology area in 2019 with 4,714 patents issued for Patent 300® companies in the U.S. The Telecommunications technology area covers United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) technology classifications related to communications systems in which electric or electromagnetic signals are used to transmit modulated carrier wave information between points. The transmission media is via radio wave generally of a frequency above human speech, yet at a frequency lower than infrared frequencies. Radiotelephonic communication via wireless link is included in this class.
Chart 1 – Top 10 Technology Areas for Patent 300® (2019 U.S. Patents)
Rank
Patent 300 Technology Area
2019 U.S. Patents
Percentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1
Semiconductors/Memory
15841
8%
2
Electrical Circuits and Systems
14269
8%
3
Multiplex and VoIP
10824
6%
4
Printing/Measuring and Testing
10383
6%
5
Optics
9830
5%
6
Selective Visual Display Systems
7338
4%
7
Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems
5951
3%
8
Computer Networks
5753
3%
9
Cryptography and Security
5016
3%
10
Telecommunications
4714
2%
The top 20 companies in the Telecommunications area, shown in Chart 2, are large global technology companies. They include Samsung (#1), Huawei (#2), Qualcomm (#3), AT&T (#4) and others. Samsung tops the list having obtained 397 US patents, down slightly from 2018. Huawei had a 15% increase over 2018 at 328 US patents. Qualcomm, at 279, was up less than 1%from 2018. The top 20 companies represent a cross section of the technology sector. Included are device manufacturers, wireless carriers, and media companies.
Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Telecommunications
Patent 300 Rank in Telecom
Patent 300 Company Name
Telecom Patents 2019
% of Company’s 2019 U.S. Patents
Telecom Patents 2018
Change from 2018 Patents
1
Samsung Electronics
397
5%
408
-3%
2
Huawei
328
11%
284
15%
3
Qualcomm
279
12%
277
1%
4
AT&T
227
16%
220
3%
5
Ericsson
226
14%
206
10%
6
LG Electronics
197
7%
230
-14%
7
Apple
177
7%
182
-3%
8
International Business Machines
135
1%
167
-19%
9
Sony
132
5%
115
15%
10
Deutsche Telekom
124
44%
74
68%
10
Intel
124
3%
183
-32%
12
Nokia
95
11%
108
-12%
13
NEC
80
8%
65
23%
14
Alphabet
73
3%
92
-21%
14
BBK Electronics
73
20%
18
306%
16
Microsoft
68
2%
97
-30%
16
Skyworks Solutions
68
24%
79
-14%
18
Blackberry
59
17%
72
-18%
19
Lenovo Group
58
9%
42
38%
20
Verizon
57
9%
95
-40%
For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.
Blockchain is an emerging technology that has taken the world by storm. In October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published a seminal paper, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System“, and the age of blockchain was born. Since then, entrepreneurs and large corporations have explored implementation of blockchain technology in financial transactions, smart contracts, automotive, retail, healthcare, energy, utilities, travel, supply chain, and gaming, among other industries.
Based on our analysis of active patents & pending applications, blockchain-related filings have increased significantly around the world in recent years. For instance, there were only 126 filings in 2014, but by 2017 there were over 3,700 applications filed in the blockchain space. In 2018, a year in which not all the filings have yet become public, there have already been over 8,200 filings. The growth curve in blockchain filings is truly exponential. It will be interesting to see over the coming years whether this trend continues.
TRY OUR INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD
Page 1 highlights the top players in the blockchain space, page 2 highlights the filing trends, and page 3 highlights the patent issuance trends. You can click on elements (e.g., country code, company name, type filter, filing date filter) of the dashboard to filter the data.
The geographic distribution of filings is also very interesting. To date, over 10,000 blockchain filings occurred in China, more than half of all blockchain related filings worldwide. According to a recent Forbes article, nearly 70% of crypto mining activity occurs in China, creating significant interest in protecting IP in the crypto currency space. The top ten filers of chinese patent applications in the blockchain space are as follows:
China Blockchain Patent Applications Filed (as of 10/1/2019)
Rank
Company
Active Patents & Pending Applications
1
Alibaba
259
2
CUNC
189
3
Hangzhou Fuzamei
163
4
Ping An
151
5
Baidu
139
6
Shenzhen Launch
102
7
Tencent
102
8
Zhongan IT
89
9
Shenzhen Oneconnect
77
10
Shenzhen Onething
74
Notably, the U.S. has the second most blockchain filings, with over 2,700 filings. In the U.S., the top ten filers of patent applications in the blockchain space are as follows:
US Blockchain Patent Applications Filed (as of 10/1/2019)
Rank
Company
Active Patents & Pending Applications
1
IBM
252
2
Alibaba
93
3
Bank of America
81
4
Mastercard
73
5
Wal-mart
63
6
Accenture
52
7
Intel
46
8
Nchain
32
9
Coinplug
29
10
TD Bank
28
In comparison, the top ten U.S. patent owners in the blockchain space are as follows:
US Blockchain Patents Issued (as of 10/1/2019)
Rank
Company
Active Patents
1
IBM
57
2
Accenture
26
3
Bank of America
24
4
Mastercard
13
5
Winklevoss IP
13
6
Capital One
12
7
Dell
9
8
Vijay Madisetti
9
9
TD Bank
9
10
Blockchain Asics
7
According to a recent report published by Accenture PLC, worldwide spending on blockchain solutions has a forecast annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76.0%, reaching $12.4 billion in 2022. The blockchain space is still in the early stages of development, and it will be interesting to see how the technology evolves and who else enters the space.
To learn more about how Harrity Patent Analytics can help you find insights into the patent world, contact us via email HERE.
