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/.
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 Telecommunications technology area is the 8th largest technology area in 2018 with 4,761 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 (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%
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), LG (#4) and others. Samsung tops the list having obtained 408 US patents, down slightly from 2017. Huawei had a 23% increase over 2017 at 284 US patents. Qualcomm, at 277, was down 38% from 2017. 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 Company Name
Patent 300 Rank in Telecom
Telecom Patents 2018
% of Company’s 2018 U.S. Patents
Telecom Patents 2017
Change from 2017 Patents
Samsung
1
408
5%
412
-1%
Huawei
2
284
13%
218
23%
Qualcomm
3
277
12%
382
-38%
LG Electronics
4
230
9%
216
6%
AT&T
5
220
17%
214
3%
Ericsson
6
206
15%
282
-37%
Intel
7
183
5%
225
-23%
Apple
8
182
8%
224
-23%
IBM
9
167
2%
198
-19%
Sony
10
115
5%
138
-20%
Nokia
11
108
12%
193
-79%
Softbank
12
103
15%
106
-3%
Microsoft
13
97
4%
93
4%
Verizon
14
95
15%
125
-32%
Alphabet Inc.
15
92
4%
113
-23%
Skyworks
16
79
38%
58
27%
Deutsche Telekom
17
74
42%
71
4%
Blackberry
18
72
20%
108
-50%
ZTE
19
67
14%
81
-21%
NEC
20
65
8%
88
-35%
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.
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