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

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Ethicon, Inc. ranks #198 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, Inc. hold?

Ethicon, Inc. holds 2,042 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 143 technology areas.

What is Ethicon, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Ethicon, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 61.4 out of 100 (top 3% 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, Inc. focus on?

Ethicon, Inc.'s top technology area is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification) with 1,762 patents, ranking #8 of 7,127 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 143 CPC subclasses total.

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

Ethicon, Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -13% 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, Inc.'s patents?

Ethicon, Inc.'s patents average 15.8 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, 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, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 2,042 granted patents across 143 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: A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Ethicon ranks #198 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 2,042 patents across 143 technology areas.

#198
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 3%
by Innovation Score (61.4/100): 15.8
avg claims per patent: -13%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R198 · US Corporation #198 · 2,042 grants

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

GRANTS-LARGE 2.0K grants
TOP-DECILE #198/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Broadcom
CPC-WIDE A61B · 143 areas
INNOV-STRONG 61.4/100
CLAIMS-RICH 15.8 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DOWN -13% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Broadcom Corporation (±1 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 61.4 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 26.3 pts (43%) Velocity 0.6 pts (1%) Breadth 25.0 pts (41%) Claim depth 9.5 pts (15%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Husqvarna AB · near

61
Sleep Number · near

61
Acucela · near

61
Ethicon · this assignee

61
Novo Nordisk A/S · near

61
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Ethicon's Innovation Score is 61.4/100 (top 3% 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 15.8 claims/patent is at or below the 17.1 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, Inc. received 941 grants versus 1,085 in 2015–2019 (-13% equal-window velocity, above median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2020 at 540 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 33. Lead class A61B accounts for 86.3% of the portfolio across 143 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. (#194) and Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (#202).

Ethicon's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Ethicon, Inc. moved from 1,343 to 119 grants (0.09x 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 #3,186. See the growth leaderboard.

Beijing BOE Optoe…

2,069
Realtek Semicondu…

2,067
Skyworks Solutions

2,061
Disney Enterprises

2,051
Ethicon ◀

2,042
Broadcom

2,041
Mastercard Intern…

2,038
IGT

2,014
Pratt & Whitney C…

2,008

What this shows Ethicon holds 2,042 patents at rank #198, 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 #198 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 #8 of 7,127 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (61 here).

Novo Nordisk A/S 61 Acucela Inc. 61 Husqvarna AB 61 Sleep Number Corporation 61

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (15.8 here).

Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO 15.8 avg University of Central Florida Research Foundation 15.8 avg AVL List GMBH 15.8 avg JNC Petrochemical Corporation 15.8 avg

Ethicon's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

61 Top 3% higher than 97% 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

Ethicon, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	63	3.1%
2016	36	1.8%
2017	184	9.0%
2018	281	13.8%
2019	521	25.5%
2020	540	26.4%
2021	282	13.8%
2022	41	2.0%
2023	45	2.2%
2024	33	1.6%
2025partial year	16	0.8%

Which technologies does Ethicon, Inc. patent most?

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 1,762

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 277

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 152

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 117

A61N - ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; Radiation THERAPY; Ultrasound Therapy 91

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 90

B29C - Shaping OR Joining OF PLASTICS; Shaping OF Material IN A Plastic State, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; After-treatment OF THE Shaped Products, e.g. Repairing 64

H02J - Circuit Arrangements OR Systems FOR Supplying OR Distributing Electric POWER; Systems FOR Storing Electric Energy 63

H01M - Processes OR Means, e.g. Batteries, FOR THE Direct Conversion OF Chemical Energy Into Electrical Energy 63

G16H - Healthcare Informatics, i.e. Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR THE Handling OR Processing OF Medical OR Healthcare Data 59

Y02E - Reduction OF Greenhouse GAS [GHG] Emissions, Related TO Energy Generation, Transmission OR Distribution 59

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 52

B29L - Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclass B29c, Relating TO Particular Articles 52

A61K - Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes 42

A61P - Specific Therapeutic Activity OF Chemical Compounds OR Medicinal Preparations 39

Top 15 of 143 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, Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Ethicon, Inc.'s lead technology class is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification), 86.3% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore A61B
Ranked #198 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Ethicon, Inc. against Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 61.4/100 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.