USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

First Solar, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 178 granted patents across 52 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: Y02E (REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

178

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

18.2

Avg claims per patent

-56%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

First holds 178 US patents across 52 technology areas, rank #2,207 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#2,207
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.0/100): 18.2
avg claims per patent: -56%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

First Solar, Inc. has been granted 178 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing First Solar, Inc. at rank #2,207 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 52 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 18.2 claims per patent with primary concentration in Y02E (REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION). As a US Corporation, First Solar, Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, First sits between The University Of Toledo (179 patents, rank #2,203) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Plc (178 patents, rank #2,211) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 63.0/100 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 54 grants, compared with 124 in the 2015–2019 window, a -56% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The US 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. First Solar, Inc.'s 18.2 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 52 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark First Solar, Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

The University of…

179
ZF CV Systems Eur…

179
Brain

178
Campagnolo S R L

178
Guangdong Univers…

178
Korea Research In…

178
Morgan Stanley Se…

178
Oxford Nanopore

178
First Solar ◀

178

What this shows First holds 178 patents at rank #2,207, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near First

By rank, the assignees closest to #2,207 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in Y02E (Reduction OF Greenhouse GAS [GHG] Emissions)

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

First's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

63 Top 2% higher than 98% 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

First Solar, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	44	24.7%
2016	48	27.0%
2017	15	8.4%
2018	11	6.2%
2019	6	3.4%
2020	9	5.1%
2021	6	3.4%
2022	9	5.1%
2023	8	4.5%
2024	12	6.7%
2025	10	5.6%

Which technologies does First Solar, Inc. patent most?

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 138

H10F - INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION 123

Y02P - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS 78

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 34

C23C - COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL 31

H02S - GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRARED RADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, e.g. USING PHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES 25

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 11

F24S - SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS 10

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 6

Y02B - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS 6

H02J - CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY 5

H01J - ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS 5

G01B - MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS 4

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 4

H01R - ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS 3

Top 15 of 52 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#2,207

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

63.0 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 First Solar, Inc. hold?

First Solar, Inc. holds 178 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 52 technology areas.

What is First Solar, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

First Solar, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 63.0 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does First Solar, Inc. focus on?

First Solar, Inc.'s top technology area is Y02E (REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION) with 138 patents. The company has filed patents in 52 CPC subclasses total.

Is First Solar, Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

First Solar, Inc.'s recent filing velocity is -56% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for First Solar, Inc.'s patents?

First Solar, Inc.'s patents average 18.2 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the First Solar, 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.

How to use this portfolio

First's 178 grants land it in the top 2% 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 - First ranks #2,207 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in Y02E - see who else leads that technology area. Y02E 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.