Where does Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. ranks #763 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 Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. hold?

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. holds 601 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2023, spanning 64 technology areas.

What is Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 58.0 out of 100 (top 5% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. focus on?

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s top technology area is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification) with 538 patents, ranking #29 of 7,127 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 64 CPC subclasses total.

Is Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -97% 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 Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s patents?

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s patents average 16.1 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 Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. 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 US Corporation

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 601 granted patents across 64 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2023. 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: A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

RSS updates for this company

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Ethicon ranks #763 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 601 patents across 64 technology areas.

#763
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 5%
by Innovation Score (58.0/100): 16.1
avg claims per patent: -97%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R763 · US Corporation #763 · 601 grants

GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-PAR · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-DROP · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MID 601 grants
TOP-DECILE #763/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Sunpower
CPC-WIDE A61B · 64 areas
INNOV-PAR 58.0/100
CLAIMS-RICH 16.1 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DROP -97% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Sunpower 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 Ethicon’s 58.0 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 (38%) Velocity 1.2 pts (2%) Breadth 25.0 pts (43%) Claim depth 9.7 pts (17%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Emerson Electric · near

58
CornellCookson · near

58
Ethicon Endo-Surgery · this assignee

58
Open Text · near

58
Visera · near

58
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Ethicon's Innovation Score is 58.0/100 (top 5% 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 Ethicon?

Each dot is one of Ethicon’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). Ethicon’s own 16.1 claims/patent is at or below the 16.4 median for these volume peers. Volume here does not track with deeper claims; several lower-volume peers claim more thoroughly per patent.

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

How Ethicon's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. received 17 grants versus 584 in 2015–2019 (-97% equal-window velocity, below median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2015 at 206 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 1. Lead class A61B accounts for 89.5% of the portfolio across 64 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Abb Vie Inc. (#759) and Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (#767).

Ethicon's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. moved from 28 to 5 grants (0.18x 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 #3,119. See the growth leaderboard.

Abb Vie

604
SAS Institute

604
DIC

602
Maxlinear

602
Sunpower

601
Vitesco

601
Ethicon Endo-surg… ◀

601
TDK Taiwan

598
Bio-rad Laborator…

597

What this shows Ethicon holds 601 patents at rank #763, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Ethicon

By rank, the assignees closest to #763 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61B (Diagnosis)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Ethicon, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In A61B (Diagnosis), Ethicon ranks #29 of 7,127 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (58 here).

Open Text Corporation 58 Visera Technologies Company Limited 58 CornellCookson, LLC 58 Emerson Electric Co. 58

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (16.1 here).

Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH 16.1 avg Lennox Industries Inc. 16.1 avg Faro Technologies, Inc. 16.1 avg United Technologies Corporation 16.1 avg

Ethicon's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

58 Top 5% higher than 95% 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 · 2015–2023

Grants by year

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

View data table

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	206	34.3%
2016	200	33.3%
2017	119	19.8%
2018	43	7.2%
2019	16	2.7%
2020	7	1.2%
2021	5	0.8%
2022	4	0.7%
2023	1	0.2%

Which technologies does Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. patent most?

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 538

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 68

A61N - ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; Radiation THERAPY; Ultrasound Therapy 57

H02J - Circuit Arrangements OR Systems FOR Supplying OR Distributing Electric POWER; Systems FOR Storing Electric Energy 40

A61F - Filters Implantable Into Blood VESSELS; PROSTHESES; Devices Providing Patency TO, OR Preventing Collapsing OF, Tubular Structures OF THE Body, e.g. STENTS; Orthopaedic, Nursing OR Contraceptive DEVICES; FOMENTATION; Treatment OR Protection OF Eyes OR EARS; Bandages, Dressings OR Absorbent PADS; Firs 34

F04C - Rotary-piston, OR Oscillating-piston, Positive-displacement Machines FOR Liquids ; Rotary-piston, OR Oscillating-piston, Positive-displacement Pumps 32

G16H - Healthcare Informatics, i.e. Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR THE Handling OR Processing OF Medical OR Healthcare Data 32

Y02E - Reduction OF Greenhouse GAS [GHG] Emissions, Related TO Energy Generation, Transmission OR Distribution 31

H01M - Processes OR Means, e.g. Batteries, FOR THE Direct Conversion OF Chemical Energy Into Electrical Energy 29

A61M - Devices FOR Introducing Media Into, OR Onto, THE Body ; Devices FOR Transducing Body Media OR FOR Taking Media From THE Body ; Devices FOR Producing OR Ending Sleep OR Stupor 24

A61L - Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects IN GENERAL; Disinfection, Sterilisation OR Deodorisation OF AIR; Chemical Aspects OF Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical ARTICLES; Materials FOR Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical Articles 16

B25C - Hand-held Nailing OR Stapling TOOLS; Manually Operated Portable Stapling Tools 15

A61K - Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes 10

Y02A - Technologies FOR Adaptation TO Climate Change 9

H01H - Electric SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; Emergency Protective Devices 9

Top 15 of 64 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

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.'s lead technology class is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification), 89.5% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore A61B
Ranked #763 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. against Abb Vie Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 58.0/100 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.