Where does Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH ranks #757 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH hold?

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH holds 605 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 54 technology areas.

What is Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's Innovation Score?

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH has an Innovation Score of 63.4 out of 100 (top 2% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH focus on?

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's top technology area is G02B (Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus) with 391 patents, ranking #42 of 4,891 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 54 CPC subclasses total.

Is Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's recent grant velocity is -21% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's patents?

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's patents average 17.0 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 Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH 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.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 605 granted patents across 54 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: G02B (Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Carl ranks #757 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 605 patents across 54 technology areas.

#757
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.4/100): 17.0
avg claims per patent: -21%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R757 · Foreign Corporation #757 · 605 grants

GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-STRONG · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-FRNCORP · VEL-DOWN · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MID 605 grants
TOP-DECILE #757/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Parker-Hannifin
CPC-WIDE G02B · 54 areas
INNOV-STRONG 63.4/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.0 claims/avg
TYPE-FRNCORP Foreign Corp
VEL-DOWN -21% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Parker-Hannifin Corporation (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How Carl’s 63.4 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 22.1 pts (35%) Velocity 6.1 pts (10%) Breadth 25.0 pts (39%) Claim depth 10.2 pts (16%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
3D Systems · near

63
Carl Zeiss Microscopy · this assignee

63
Sanofi-Aventis… · near

63
Terumo · near

63
United · near

63
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Carl's Innovation Score is 63.4/100 (top 2% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for Carl?

Each dot is one of Carl’s 8 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). Carl’s own 17.0 claims/patent is ABOVE the 16.8 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

Carl vs its 8 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

How Carl's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH received 247 grants versus 313 in 2015–2019 (-21% equal-window velocity, below median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2018 at 67 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 37. Lead class G02B accounts for 64.6% of the portfolio across 54 subclasses. Volume neighbours: University of Utah Research Foundation (#753) and DIC Corporation (#761).

Carl's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH moved from 162 to 148 grants (0.91x the prior three-year total, a multiple, not a CAGR). Among 3,296 tracked assignees with ≥100 grants and ≥20 prior-period grants, that multiple ranks #1,431. See the growth leaderboard.

University of Uta…

608
GE Aviation Syste…

607
Essilor Internati…

606
Sysmex

606
Parker-hannifin

605
Carl Zeiss Micros… ◀

605
Abb Vie

604
SAS Institute

604
DIC

602

What this shows Carl holds 605 patents at rank #757, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Carl

By rank, the assignees closest to #757 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G02B (Optical Elements)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Carl, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In G02B (Optical Elements), Carl ranks #42 of 4,891 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (63 here).

Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha 63 Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH 63 United Technologies Corporation 63 3D Systems, Inc. 63

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.0 here).

Siemens Healthineers AG 17.0 avg ZKW Group GmbH 17.0 avg Axon Enterprise, Inc. 17.0 avg Liko Research & Development AB 17.0 avg

Carl's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

63 Top 2% higher than 98% of 49,997 US assignees

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

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

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	60	9.9%
2016	58	9.6%
2017	65	10.7%
2018	67	11.1%
2019	63	10.4%
2020	58	9.6%
2021	41	6.8%
2022	67	11.1%
2023	37	6.1%
2024	44	7.3%
2025partial year	45	7.4%

Which technologies does Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH patent most?

G02B - Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus 391

H01J - Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps 168

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 130

G06T - Image Data Processing OR Generation, IN General 86

H04N - Pictorial Communication, e.g. Television 53

G01B - Measuring Length, Thickness OR Similar Linear DIMENSIONS; Measuring ANGLES; Measuring AREAS; Measuring Irregularities OF Surfaces OR Contours 28

G06V - Image OR Video Recognition OR Understanding 26

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 22

G01J - Measurement OF Intensity, Velocity, Spectral Content, Polarisation, Phase OR Pulse Characteristics OF Infrared, Visible OR Ultraviolet LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; Radiation Pyrometry 19

G06N - Computing Arrangements Based ON Specific Computational Models 13

G02F - Optical Devices OR Arrangements FOR THE Control OF Light BY Modification OF THE Optical Properties OF THE Media OF THE Elements Involved THEREIN; Non-linear OPTICS; Frequency-changing OF LIGHT; Optical Logic ELEMENTS; Optical ANALOGUE/DIGITAL Converters 11

G03B - Apparatus OR Arrangements FOR Taking Photographs OR FOR Projecting OR Viewing THEM; Apparatus OR Arrangements Employing Analogous Techniques Using Waves Other Than Optical WAVES; Accessories Therefor 10

G21K - Techniques FOR Handling Particles OR Ionising Radiation NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; Irradiation DEVICES; Gamma RAY OR X-ray Microscopes 9

B82Y - Specific Uses OR Applications OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Measurement OR Analysis OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Manufacture OR Treatment OF Nanostructures 8

B23K - Soldering OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; Cladding OR Plating BY Soldering OR WELDING; Cutting BY Applying Heat Locally, e.g. Flame CUTTING; Working BY Laser Beam 7

Top 15 of 54 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH's lead technology class is G02B (Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus), 64.6% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore G02B
Ranked #757 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH against University of Utah Research Foundation, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 63.4/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

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

Compiled by PlainPatent , US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

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.