Where does National Oilwell Varco, L.P. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), National Oilwell Varco, L.P. ranks #1,111 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 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. hold?

National Oilwell Varco, L.P. holds 382 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 109 technology areas.

What is National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s Innovation Score?

National Oilwell Varco, L.P. has an Innovation Score of 64.4 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%).

Is National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s recent grant velocity is -38% 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 National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s patents?

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s patents average 20.4 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 National Oilwell Varco, L.P. 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

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.

Q: What technology areas does National Oilwell Varco, L.P. focus on?

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s top technology area is E21B (Earth OR Rock DRILLING; Obtaining OIL, GAS, Water, Soluble OR Meltable Materials OR A Slurry OF Minerals From Wells) with 298 patents, ranking #13 of 1,363 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 109 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 382 granted patents across 109 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: E21B (Earth OR Rock DRILLING; Obtaining OIL, GAS, Water, Soluble OR Meltable Materials OR A Slurry OF Minerals From Wells).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, National ranks #1,111 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 382 patents across 109 technology areas.

#1,111
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (64.4/100): 20.4
avg claims per patent: -38%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R1111 · US Corporation #1,111 · 382 grants

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

GRANTS-MID 382 grants
TOP-DECILE #1,111/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Linde
CPC-WIDE E21B · 109 areas
INNOV-STRONG 64.4/100
CLAIMS-DENSE 20.4 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DOWN -38% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Linde GmbH (±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 National’s 64.4 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 20.5 pts (32%) Velocity 6.6 pts (10%) Breadth 25.0 pts (39%) Claim depth 12.3 pts (19%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Otis Elevator · near

64
BSH Hausgeräte · near

64
IP Holding · near

64
National Oilwell Varco · this assignee

64
Yangzhou University · near

64
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows National's Innovation Score is 64.4/100 (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 National?

Each dot is one of National’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). National’s own 20.4 claims/patent is ABOVE the 15.0 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

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

How National's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, National Oilwell Varco, L.P. received 138 grants versus 224 in 2015–2019 (-38% equal-window velocity, below median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2016 at 61 grants and bottomed in 2019 at 19. Lead class E21B accounts for 78% of the portfolio across 109 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd (#1,107) and Henkel IP & Holding GMBH (#1,115).

National's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, National Oilwell Varco, L.P. moved from 79 to 78 grants (0.99x 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 #1,219. See the growth leaderboard.

Kobelco Construct…

384
Power Integrations

384
Johns Manville

383
Linde

382
National Oilwell… ◀

382
TE Connectivity S…

381
Aesculap

380
BSH Home Applianc…

380
Henkel IP & Holdi…

380

What this shows National holds 382 patents at rank #1,111, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near National

By rank, the assignees closest to #1,111 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in E21B (Earth OR Rock Drilling)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for National, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In E21B (Earth OR Rock Drilling), National ranks #13 of 1,363 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (64 here).

BSH Hausgeräte GmbH 64 IP Holding Company LLC 64 Yangzhou University 64 Otis Elevator Company 64

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (20.4 here).

Pacific Biosciences OF California, Inc. 20.4 avg Everspin Technologies, Inc. 20.4 avg Pivotal Software, Inc. 20.4 avg STMicroelectronics SA 20.4 avg

National'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

National Oilwell Varco, L.P. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	52	13.6%
2016	61	16.0%
2017	51	13.4%
2018	41	10.7%
2019	19	5.0%
2020	39	10.2%
2021	21	5.5%
2022	21	5.5%
2023	26	6.8%
2024	31	8.1%
2025partial year	20	5.2%

Which technologies does National Oilwell Varco, L.P. patent most?

E21B - Earth OR Rock DRILLING; Obtaining OIL, GAS, Water, Soluble OR Meltable Materials OR A Slurry OF Minerals From Wells 298

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 33

F16K - VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; Devices FOR Venting OR Aerating 23

F16L - PIPES; Joints OR Fittings FOR PIPES; Supports FOR Pipes, Cables OR Protective TUBING; Means FOR Thermal Insulation IN General 22

B01D - Separation 21

F04B - Positive-displacement Machines FOR LIQUIDS; Pumps 20

G05B - Control OR Regulating Systems IN GENERAL; Functional Elements OF Such SYSTEMS; Monitoring OR Testing Arrangements FOR Such Systems OR Elements 13

F16H - Gearing 12

F04C - Rotary-piston, OR Oscillating-piston, Positive-displacement Machines FOR Liquids ; Rotary-piston, OR Oscillating-piston, Positive-displacement Pumps 11

B07B - Separating Solids From Solids BY Sieving, Screening, Sifting OR BY Using GAS CURRENTS; Separating BY Other DRY Methods Applicable TO Bulk Material, e.g. Loose Articles FIT TO BE Handled Like Bulk Material 11

B66C - CRANES; Load-engaging Elements OR Devices FOR Cranes, Capstans, Winches, OR Tackles 10

F16J - Pistons ; CYLINDERS; Sealings 9

E04H - Buildings OR Like Structures FOR Particular PURPOSES; Swimming OR Splash Baths OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; Tents OR Canopies, IN General 9

B25J - MANIPULATORS; Chambers Provided With Manipulation Devices 9

F16D - Couplings FOR Transmitting ROTATION; CLUTCHES; Brakes 8

Top 15 of 109 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

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

National Oilwell Varco, L.P.'s lead technology class is E21B (Earth OR Rock DRILLING; Obtaining OIL, GAS, Water, Soluble OR Meltable Materials OR A Slurry OF Minerals From Wells), 78% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore E21B
Ranked #1,111 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare National Oilwell Varco, L.P. against Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 64.4/100 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.