PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 57 granted patents across 6 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2025. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
57
Total patents granted
6
CPC technology areas
18.7
Avg claims per patent
+217%
5-year grant velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Black ranks #5,916 of 50,000 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 57 patents across 6 technology areas.

#5,916
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 29%
by Innovation Score (42.9/100)
18.7
avg claims per patent
+217%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc has been granted 57 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc at #5,916 of 50,000 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 6 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 18.7 claims per patent with primary concentration in G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING). As a US Corporation, Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Black sits between Assurant, Inc. (57 patents, rank #5,913) and Cardio Flow, Inc. (57 patents, rank #5,921) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 42.9/100 blends portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Grant cadence records the difference between two grant-year windows. Between 2020 and 2024 the company received 38 grants, compared with 12 in the 2015–2019 window, a +217% shift in five-year grant velocity. Both windows cover five complete grant years; the latest PatentsView year is a partial release and is excluded from this comparison, though it still appears in the yearly table and chart below. Grant timing can lag the related application by years, so this comparison does not establish current R&D spending, strategic intent, or a company’s application activity. The US Corporation classification provides context for the assignee record, not a conclusion about its business strategy.

Claim depth and technology breadth describe this aggregate record. Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's 18.7 average claims per patent is an average count, not a measure of claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk. The record spans 6 CPC subclasses. Combined with portfolio volume, these figures let readers compare the documented grant records of assignees in similar technology classes.

Who files at Black's volume?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus its nearest-ranked assignees by volume, this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows Black holds 57 patents at rank #5,917, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

Companies ranked near Black

By rank, the assignees closest to #5,917 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G06F (Electric Digital DATA Processing)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Black's primary technology class.

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Black, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above).

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (43 here).

Hangzhou ZERO ZERO Technology Co., Ltd. 43 Acciona Windpower, S.a. 43 Biomet Sports Medicine, Llc 43 GS Caltex Corporation 43

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (18.7 here).

Viacom International Inc. 18.7 avg REE Automotive Ltd 18.7 avg Valencell, Inc. 18.7 avg Atricure, Inc. 18.7 avg

Black's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

43 Top 29% higher than 71% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). Below this entry. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). This entry sits in this band. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). Above this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

0246810 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 7
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2015 2 3.5%
2016 2 3.5%
2017 3 5.3%
2018 3 5.3%
2019 2 3.5%
2020 9 15.8%
2021 6 10.5%
2022 9 15.8%
2023 8 14.0%
2024 6 10.5%
2025partial year 7 12.3%

Which technologies does Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc patent most?

Top 6 of 6 technology areas

Grant record at a glance

Portfolio Volume 57 grants
CPC subclasses 6
Avg. claims / grant 18.7
Velocity +217%

Historical grant data only; it does not rate legal strength or current strategy.

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#5,916

of 50,000 tracked assignees

Innovation Score

42.9 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc rank among US patent assignees?
According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc ranks #5,916 of 50,000 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.
How many patents does Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc hold?
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc holds 57 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 6 technology areas.
What is Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's Innovation Score?
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc has an Innovation Score of 42.9 out of 100 (top 29% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc focus on?
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's top technology area is G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING) with 54 patents. Grants appear in 6 CPC subclasses total.
Is Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's recent grant velocity is +217% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). This indicates accelerating grant output.
What does claim depth mean for Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's patents?
Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc's patents average 18.7 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.
How is the Black Hills IP Holdings, Llc patent data sourced?
All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Black's 57 grants land it in the top 29% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

  • Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Black ranks #5,916 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in G06F - see who else leads that technology area. G06F leaders
  • Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page
  • USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
  • Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
  • USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.