Where does MKS Instruments, Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), MKS Instruments, Inc. ranks #1,878 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 MKS Instruments, Inc. hold?

MKS Instruments, Inc. holds 214 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 64 technology areas.

What is MKS Instruments, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

MKS Instruments, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 63.6 out of 100 (top 2% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does MKS Instruments, Inc. focus on?

MKS Instruments, Inc.'s top technology area is H01J (Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps) with 101 patents, ranking #28 of 1,076 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 64 CPC subclasses total.

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

MKS Instruments, Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -5% 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 MKS Instruments, Inc.'s patents?

MKS Instruments, Inc.'s patents average 23.9 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 MKS Instruments, 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

MKS Instruments, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 214 granted patents across 64 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: H01J (Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, MKS ranks #1,878 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 214 patents across 64 technology areas.

#1,878
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.6/100): 23.9
avg claims per patent: -5%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R1878 · US Corporation #1,878 · 214 grants

GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-STRONG · CLAIMS-DENSE · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-FLAT · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MID 214 grants
TOP-DECILE #1,878/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH F5 Networks
CPC-WIDE H01J · 64 areas
INNOV-STRONG 63.6/100
CLAIMS-DENSE 23.9 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-FLAT -5% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: F5 Networks, Inc. (±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 MKS’s 63.6 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 18.6 pts (29%) Velocity 5.7 pts (9%) Breadth 25.0 pts (39%) Claim depth 14.3 pts (22%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Avery Dennison · near

64
Hefei Institutes of… · near

64
MKS Instruments · this assignee

64
Novozymes A/S · near

64
Rolls-Royce · near

64
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows MKS's Innovation Score is 63.6/100 (top 2% 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 MKS?

Each dot is one of MKS’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). MKS’s own 23.9 claims/patent is ABOVE the 14.6 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

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

How MKS's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, MKS Instruments, Inc. received 100 grants versus 105 in 2015–2019 (-5% equal-window velocity, above median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2017 at 26 grants and bottomed in 2019 at 17. Lead class H01J accounts for 47.2% of the portfolio across 64 subclasses. Volume neighbours: F5 Networks, Inc. (#1,873) and Senju Metal Industry Co., Ltd. (#1,881).

MKS's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, MKS Instruments, Inc. moved from 63 to 54 grants (0.86x 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 #1,640. See the growth leaderboard.

F5 Networks

214
Glaxosmithkline I…

214
Grundfos Holding…

214
Johnson Electric…

214
Minebea

214
NEC Display Solut…

214
Nunhems B V

214
Senju Metal Indus…

214
MKS Instruments ◀

214

What this shows MKS holds 214 patents at rank #1,877, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near MKS

By rank, the assignees closest to #1,877 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in H01J (Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for MKS, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In H01J (Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps), MKS ranks #28 of 1,076 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (64 here).

Novozymes A/S 64 Rolls-Royce Corporation 64 Hefei Institutes of Physical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences 64 Avery Dennison Corporation 64

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (23.9 here).

ExtraHop Networks, Inc. 23.9 avg Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. 23.9 avg Audible, Inc. 23.9 avg Global Graphene Group, Inc. 23.8 avg

MKS's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

64 Top 2% higher than 98% 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

MKS Instruments, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	22	10.3%
2016	21	9.8%
2017	26	12.1%
2018	19	8.9%
2019	17	7.9%
2020	23	10.7%
2021	23	10.7%
2022	19	8.9%
2023	17	7.9%
2024	18	8.4%
2025partial year	9	4.2%

Which technologies does MKS Instruments, Inc. patent most?

H01J - Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps 101

G01L - Measuring Force, Stress, Torque, Work, Mechanical Power, Mechanical Efficiency, OR Fluid Pressure 34

G05D - Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables 31

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 31

H05H - Plasma Technique ; Production OF Accelerated Electrically-charged Particles OR OF NEUTRONS; Production OR Acceleration OF Neutral Molecular OR Atomic Beams 27

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 26

G01F - Measuring Volume, Volume Flow, Mass Flow OR Liquid LEVEL; Metering BY Volume 25

H01L - Semiconductor Devices NOT Covered BY Class H10 21

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 18

H03F - Amplifiers 15

F16K - VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; Devices FOR Venting OR Aerating 15

H03H - Impedance Networks, e.g. Resonant CIRCUITS; Resonators 9

H02M - Apparatus FOR Conversion Between AC AND AC, Between AC AND DC, OR Between DC AND DC, AND FOR USE With Mains OR Similar Power Supply SYSTEMS; Conversion OF DC OR AC Input Power Into Surge Output POWER; Control OR Regulation Thereof 8

H05B - Electric HEATING; Electric Light Sources NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; Circuit Arrangements FOR Electric Light Sources, IN General 8

B08B - Cleaning IN GENERAL; Prevention OF Fouling IN General 7

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

MKS Instruments, Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

MKS Instruments, Inc.'s lead technology class is H01J (Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps), 47.2% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore H01J
Ranked #1,878 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare MKS Instruments, Inc. against F5 Networks, Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 63.6/100 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.