Computer Networks Ranks as the #8 Technology Area in the 2020 Patent 300®

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 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/.