Cryptography and Security Ranks as the #9 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 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)

RankPatent 300 Technology Area2019 U.S. PatentsPercentage of Total 2019 U.S. Patents
1Semiconductors/Memory158418%
2Electrical Circuits and Systems142698%
3Multiplex and VoIP108246%
4Printing/Measuring and Testing103836%
5Optics98305%
6Selective Visual Display Systems73384%
7Thermal & Combustion Technology, Motive & Fluid Power Systems59513%
8Computer Networks57533%
9Cryptography and Security50163%
10Telecommunications47142%

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

RankPatent 300®2019 Cryptography Patents% of Company's 2019 US Patents2018 Cryptography PatentsChange from 2018
1International Business Machines6367%647-2%
2Amazon29312%25216%
3Microsoft2548%19928%
4Dell24910%257-3%
5Intel2076%219-5%
6Samsung Electronics1482%12320%
7Cisco Systems14314%11030%
8Broadcom12721%45182%
9Bank of America10726%8920%
10Alphabet1004%119-16%
11Capital One Financial9716%13646%
12Apple924%7326%
13Huawei903%5661%
14AT&T836%830%
15Alibaba Group Holding6822%30127%
15Hewlett Packard Enterprise688%29134%
15Oracle688%5719%
18Visa6226%4344%
19Canon581%4723%
20Ericsson553%4717%

For more detailed information about this technology area, or any other data related to the 2020 Patent 300®, please visit harrityllp.com/patent300/.