USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 1,028 granted patents across 86 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G03F (PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR;).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

1,028

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

21.8

Avg claims per patent

-42%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Carl holds 1,028 US patents across 86 technology areas, rank #441 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#441
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (66.2/100): 21.8
avg claims per patent: -42%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh has been granted 1,028 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh at rank #441 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 86 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 21.8 claims per patent with primary concentration in G03F (PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR;). As a Foreign Corporation, Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Carl sits between Genentech, Inc. (1,039 patents, rank #437) and Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated (1,025 patents, rank #445) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 66.2/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 376 grants, compared with 652 in the 2015–2019 window, a -42% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The Foreign Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's 21.8 average claims per patent reflects complex, broadly scoped inventions that are difficult for competitors to design around, while a multi-domain presence across 86 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Genentech

1,039
Seoul National Un…

1,030
Align Technology

1,029
Contemporary Ampe…

1,029
Carl Zeiss SMT ◀

1,028
DSM IP Assets B V

1,027
Aptiv

1,025
DEKA Products Par…

1,025
Palo Alto Researc…

1,025

What this shows Carl holds 1,028 patents at rank #441, 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 #441 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G03F (Photomechanical Production OF Textured OR Patterned Surfaces)

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

Carl's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

66 Top 1% higher than 99% of 50,000 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 SMT Gmbh patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	123	12.0%
2016	132	12.8%
2017	154	15.0%
2018	145	14.1%
2019	98	9.5%
2020	79	7.7%
2021	80	7.8%
2022	65	6.3%
2023	36	3.5%
2024	60	5.8%
2025	56	5.4%

Which technologies does Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh patent most?

G03F - PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; 919

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 585

G21K - TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING PARTICLES OR IONISING RADIATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; IRRADIATION DEVICES; GAMMA RAY OR X-RAY MICROSCOPES 130

G01B - MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS 69

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 68

G01M - TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 53

H01J - ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS 44

B82Y - SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES 37

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 27

G01Q - SCANNING-PROBE TECHNIQUES OR APPARATUS; APPLICATIONS OF SCANNING-PROBE TECHNIQUES, e.g. SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY [SPM] 26

G01J - MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY 23

H05G - X-RAY TECHNIQUE 21

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 19

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 16

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 16

Top 15 of 86 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Complex

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#441

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

66.2 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh hold?

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh holds 1,028 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 86 technology areas.

What is Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's Innovation Score?

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh has an Innovation Score of 66.2 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh focus on?

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's top technology area is G03F (PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR;) with 919 patents. The company has filed patents in 86 CPC subclasses total.

Is Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's recent filing velocity is -42% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's patents?

Carl Zeiss SMT Gmbh's patents average 21.8 claims each. This indicates complex, broadly scoped patents that are harder for competitors to design around.

How is the Carl Zeiss SMT 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.

How to use this portfolio

Carl's 1,028 grants land it in the top 1% 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 - Carl ranks #441 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in G03F - see who else leads that technology area. G03F 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 Editorial

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 byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · 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.