Anaqua Analysis of USPTO Patenting Statistics 2024

Today, Anaqua released its annual USPTO patent statistics’ analysis, prepared using Anaqua’s AcclaimIP patent analytics software. The analysis found that patent grants grew 5.7% to 368,597 for the period of December 1, 2023 – November 30, 2024, compared to 348,774 in the previous period. While this marks the second year-over-year increase in US patent granting, this time period experienced stronger growth.

In examining the data further, US-based companies continue to lead all countries for the total number of granted US patents (157,955), despite a 2.8% decrease from 2023 (162,557). APAC-based companies continue to contribute strongly to the top five US granting countries with Japan in second place (44,656; a 9% increase), followed by China (38,775; a 33.8% increase) and South Korea (25,891; a 7.6% increase). Germany, in fifth place with 15,420 grants (a 10.9% increase), led European countries.

Further analysis of patent filing between 2023 and 2024 revealed that filings by large corporations decreased, while those from universities, government labs and small entities remained steady. The most significant drop in US filings occurred in physics and electrical-related patents, with notable reductions observed in VR and 5G-related patents. The analysis suggests a shift toward AI-related patent codes impacting VR patent decreases, while the 5G patent decrease appears linked to the transition toward 6G technologies as new wireless filings emerge.

These shifts point to how companies’ evolving priorities and investments in emerging technologies impact patent activity.

Most Innovative Companies Based on Granted Patents

In examining the top five most innovative companies, calculated by the number of granted patents, Samsung Electronics continues to lead with 10,427 patents.

Samsung’s top five percentage growth areas between 2023 and 2024 include multi-device organic light emitting solid state devices, electric data processing interface arrangements, plural common-substrate semiconductor arrangements, single-component organic light emitting solid state devices, and non-cathode-ray circuit control arrangements.

The rest of the top five most innovative companies are:

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (4,127; a 19.9% increase in granted patents from 2023)
• LG Corp (3,987; a 20.1% increase)
• Qualcomm (3,474; a 9.8% decrease)
• Apple (3,437; a 17.8% increase)

Top Technology Fields Based on Granted Patents

In examining the top technology fields in 2024 based on the most granted patents, semiconductor technology remains in first place for the third year in a row. As global innovation in this area remains prevalent, this is the third year of growth in overall volume of patent grants – up from 49,831 in 2021 to 67,118 in 2024. The top companies receiving the most US granted patents in this area include:

• Samsung
• TSMC
• Intel
• BOE
• LG Corp

The rest of the top five most innovative technology fields include artificial intelligence (AI), medical related patents, 5G, and virtual reality (VR).

The growth of artificial intelligence patent grants resulted in the fourth year of growth in overall volume of patent grants – up from 34,544 in 2020 to 54,022 in 2024. Leading companies in this space include Samsung, IBM, Alphabet, BOE, and NEC. Specific innovation areas within AI include biological related AI, machine learning AI, image or video recognition AI, scene-specific elements of image/video AI, and general image analysis AI.

Medical-related patents saw a 76.3% increase in granted patents, from 30,429 in 2023 to 53,648 in 2024, leading to the technology’s inclusion as a top field. Leading companies in the space include Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Cilag AG, Becton, Dickinson and Company, and Boston Scientific. The top inventing areas include identification of persons for measuring/diagnostic purposes, surgical instruments, devices and methods of use, medicinal preparations containing organic active ingredients, antineoplastic agents (chemotherapy agents), and medicinal preparations of special physical form (pellets, capsules and solid agents).

Although 5G technology saw a decrease in overall granted patents in 2024 – 44,657 down from 55,263 in 2023, it remains in the top five technology fields based on patent grants from companies including Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Apple, and Ericsson. The top innovation areas within 5G include wireless local resource management, concurrent multiple use wireless transmission path arrangements, wireless communication network facilities, wireless connection management and supervising, and monitoring and testing of wireless networks.

Virtual reality (VR) has continued to be a top technology area, despite a decrease in patent grants – 42,559 down from 57,252 in 2023. The companies receiving the most US granted patents in VR include Samsung, Dell, Apple, Micron, and IBM, and the top innovative areas within VR include VR-to-computer interface arrangements, VR control units technology, general VR data processing, VR error detection and monitoring, and VR-related optical elements and visual systems.

Most Innovative Universities

Anaqua’s analysis also examined the most innovative universities, a list which greatly evolved since 2023. Big movers included King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia, which was 36th in 2023, and Zhejiang University, which was previously 32nd. Other US-based public universities, including University of Texas, Stanford, University of Florida, and University of Michigan, joined the top 10 list.