Cryptography and Security Ranks as the #10 Technology Area in the 2019 Patent 300™ Report

By Rocky Berndsen

The 2019 Patent 300™ Report details the top 300 companies, organizations, and universities obtaining patents in the United States. Data from the report shows that nearly 70% of the U.S. patents obtained in 2018 were for electrical, software, or computer-related technologies. The top 10 technology areas, which represent 49% of the 167,164 U.S. patents obtained by Patent 300 companies in 2018, are dominated by electrical technologies.

As is shown in Chart 1, the Cryptography and Security technology area is the 10th largest technology area in 2018 with over 4,300 patents issued 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 (2018 U.S. Patents)

Rank	Patent 300 Technology Area	2018 U.S. Patents	Percentage of Total 2018 U.S. Patents
1	Semiconductors/Memory	15,153	9%
2	Electrical Circuits and Systems	13,215	8%
3	Multiplex and VoIP	9,875	6%
4	Optics	9,003	5%
5	Printing/Measuring and Testing	8,641	5%
6	Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems	7,017	4%
7	Selective Visual Display Systems	4,855	3%
8	Telecommunications: Analog Radio Telephone; Satellite and Power Control; Transceivers, Measuring and Testing; Bluetooth; Receivers and Transmitters; Equipment Details	4,761	3%
9	Computer Networks	4,544	3%
10	Cryptography and Security	4,311	3%

When you look at the top 20 companies obtaining patents in the Cryptography and Security technology area, shown in Chart 2, most of the companies are large technology companies such as IBM (#1), Dell (#2), and Intel (#4). In addition, there are also cryptography and security-focused companies like Symantec (#9) and Fortinet (#14). IBM ranks #1 on the list having obtained 613 U.S. patents in the Cryptography and Security technology area, which is a 3% increase over 2017. About 7% of IBM’s U.S. patents obtained in 2018 are classified in the Cryptography and Security technology area.

Chart 2 – Top 20 Companies by U.S. Patents in Cryptography and Security

Patent 300 - Company Name	Patent 300 Rank in Cryptography and Security	Cryptography and Security Patents 2018	% of Company’s 2018 U.S. Patents	Cryptography and Security Patents 2017	Change from 2017 Patents
IBM	1	613	7%	595	3%
Dell	2	257	12%	232	10%
Amazon	3	252	12%	214	15%
Intel	4	219	6%	222	-1%
Microsoft	5	199	8%	248	-25%
Samsung	6	123	2%	107	13%
Alphabet	7	119	5%	144	-21%
Cisco	8	110	13%	83	25%
Symantec	9	103	70%	134	-30%
Bank of America	10	89	28%	76	15%
AT&T	11	83	7%	93	-12%
Qualcomm	12	82	3%	81	1%
Apple	13	73	3%	67	8%
Fortinet	14	67	52%	55	18%
Oracle	15	57	8%	64	-12%
Huawei	16	56	3%	53	5%
Verizon	17	56	9%	64	-14%
Blackberry	18	48	13%	52	-8%
Canon	19	47	1%	48	-2%
Ericsson	20	47	3%	43	9%

Cryptography and Security is an important technology area in the patent world with over 4,300 U.S. patents in 2018 alone. The importance and value of this technology is only increasing as evidenced by the daily news headlines related to data privacy, data security, and secure communications.

For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2019 Patent 300™ Report, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/ or contact Rocky Berndsen directly via email at rberndsen@harrityllp.com.