USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

ION Geophysical Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record — 73 granted patents across 31 technology areas, active 2015–2024. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G01V (GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS).

73
Total patents granted
31
CPC technology areas
24.3
Avg claims per patent
-70%
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

ION holds 73 US patents across 31 technology areas — rank #4,772 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#4,772
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 13%
by Innovation Score (50.6/100)
24.3
avg claims per patent
-70%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

ION Geophysical Corporation has been granted 73 US utility patents between 2015 and 2024, placing ION Geophysical Corporation at rank #4,772 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 31 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 24.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in G01V (GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS). As a US Corporation, ION Geophysical Corporation is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. The composite Innovation Score of 50.6/100 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 17 grants, compared with 56 in the 2015–2019 window — a -70% 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. ION Geophysical Corporation's 24.3 average claims per patent reflects complex, broadly scoped inventions that are difficult for competitors to design around, while a multi-domain presence across 31 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark ION Geophysical Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

How does ION compare?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus the largest corporate holders — this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows ION holds 73 patents — placing it at rank #4,772 overall, well behind the volume leaders but ahead of the tens of thousands of smaller assignees in the dataset.

Source USPTO PatentsView — granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

ION's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

51 Top 13% higher than 87% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). Below this entry. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). Below this entry. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). This entry sits in this band. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

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 · 2015–2024

0510152025 201520162017201820192020202120222024 1
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2024

Grants by year

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

View data table
ION Geophysical Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2015 6 8.2%
2016 9 12.3%
2017 10 13.7%
2018 10 13.7%
2019 21 28.8%
2020 4 5.5%
2021 6 8.2%
2022 6 8.2%
2024 1 1.4%

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light
Tech Breadth Multi-domain
Claim Depth Complex
Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#4,772

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

50.6 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 ION Geophysical Corporation hold?
ION Geophysical Corporation holds 73 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2024, spanning 31 technology areas.
What is ION Geophysical Corporation's Innovation Score?
ION Geophysical Corporation has an Innovation Score of 50.6 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does ION Geophysical Corporation focus on?
ION Geophysical Corporation's top technology area is G01V (GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS) with 68 patents. The company has filed patents in 31 CPC subclasses total.
Is ION Geophysical Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
ION Geophysical Corporation's recent filing velocity is -70% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.
What does claim depth mean for ION Geophysical Corporation's patents?
ION Geophysical Corporation's patents average 24.3 claims each. This indicates complex, broadly scoped patents that are harder for competitors to design around.
How is the ION Geophysical Corporation 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.

Learn More

How to use this portfolio

ION's 73 grants land it in the top 13% 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 — ION ranks #4,772 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in G01V — see who else leads that technology area. G01V 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.

Explore the patent dataset

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.

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