USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

FLIR Systems, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 257 granted patents across 86 technology areas, active 2015–2022. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: H04N (PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

257

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

18.2

Avg claims per patent

-71%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

FLIR holds 257 US patents across 86 technology areas, rank #1,607 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#1,607
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 7%
by Innovation Score (55.1/100): 18.2
avg claims per patent: -71%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

FLIR Systems, Inc. has been granted 257 US utility patents between 2015 and 2022, placing FLIR Systems, Inc. at rank #1,607 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 86 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 18.2 claims per patent with primary concentration in H04N (PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION). As a US Corporation, FLIR Systems, Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, FLIR sits between H. Lundbeck A/s (258 patents, rank #1,603) and BULL SAS (256 patents, rank #1,611) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 55.1/100 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 58 grants, compared with 199 in the 2015–2019 window, a -71% 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. FLIR Systems, 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 86 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark FLIR Systems, Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

H Lundbeck A/S

258
Kantatsu

258
Turner Broadcasti…

258
AAC Acoustic (She…

257
Horiba

257
SMS group

257
FLIR Systems ◀

257
Asahi Kasei Micro…

256
BULL SAS

256

What this shows FLIR holds 257 patents at rank #1,607, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near FLIR

By rank, the assignees closest to #1,607 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in H04N (Pictorial Communication)

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

FLIR's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

55 Top 7% higher than 93% 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 · 2015–2022

Grants by year

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

View data table

FLIR Systems, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	24	9.3%
2016	30	11.7%
2017	47	18.3%
2018	46	17.9%
2019	52	20.2%
2020	27	10.5%
2021	30	11.7%
2022	1	0.4%

Which technologies does FLIR Systems, Inc. patent most?

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 143

G01J - MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY 47

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 43

G01S - RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES 27

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 22

H10F - INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION 21

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 17

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 13

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 13

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 12

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 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

G08B - SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS 10

G01C - MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY 8

B63H - MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING 8

Top 15 of 86 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#1,607

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

55.1 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 FLIR Systems, Inc. hold?

FLIR Systems, Inc. holds 257 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2022, spanning 86 technology areas.

What is FLIR Systems, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

FLIR Systems, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 55.1 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does FLIR Systems, Inc. focus on?

FLIR Systems, Inc.'s top technology area is H04N (PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION) with 143 patents. The company has filed patents in 86 CPC subclasses total.

Is FLIR Systems, Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

FLIR Systems, Inc.'s recent filing velocity is -71% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for FLIR Systems, Inc.'s patents?

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

How is the FLIR Systems, 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

FLIR's 257 grants land it in the top 7% 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 - FLIR ranks #1,607 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in H04N - see who else leads that technology area. H04N 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.