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/.
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