USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

National Science Foundation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 27 granted patents across 54 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2023. 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: G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING).

Compiled by PlainPatent, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

15.7

Avg claims per patent

-58%

5-year grant velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, National ranks #11,359 of 50,000 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 27 patents across 54 technology areas.

#11,359
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 12%
by Innovation Score (51.3/100): 15.7
avg claims per patent: -58%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

National Science Foundation has been granted 27 US utility patents between 2015 and 2023, placing National Science Foundation at #11,359 of 50,000 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 54 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 15.7 claims per patent with primary concentration in G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING). As a US Corporation, National Science Foundation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, National sits between Mitsubishi Materials Electronic Chemicals Co., Ltd. (27 patents, rank #11,352) and Nikon Metrology Nv (27 patents, rank #11,360) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 51.3/100 blends portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Grant cadence records the difference between two grant-year windows. Between 2020 and 2024 the company received 8 grants, compared with 19 in the 2015–2019 window, a -58% shift in five-year grant velocity. Both windows cover five complete grant years; the latest PatentsView year is a partial release and is excluded from this comparison, though it still appears in the yearly table and chart below. Grant timing can lag the related application by years, so this comparison does not establish current R&D spending, strategic intent, or a company’s application activity. The US Corporation classification provides context for the assignee record, not a conclusion about its business strategy.

Claim depth and technology breadth describe this aggregate record. National Science Foundation's 15.7 average claims per patent is an average count, not a measure of claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk. The record spans 54 CPC subclasses. Combined with portfolio volume, these figures let readers compare the documented grant records of assignees in similar technology classes.

Mitsubishi Materi…

27
Morphotrak

27
Munters

27
National Defense…

27
Netzch-feinmahlte…

27
Netzsch-gerätebau

27
Nextronics Engine…

27
Nikon Metrology

27
National Science… ◀

27

What this shows National holds 27 patents at rank #11,356, 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 #11,356 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G06F (Electric Digital DATA Processing)

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

National's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

51 Top 12% higher than 88% 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 · 2015–2023

Grants by year

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

View data table

National Science Foundation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	4	14.8%
2016	4	14.8%
2017	7	25.9%
2018	3	11.1%
2019	1	3.7%
2020	3	11.1%
2021	1	3.7%
2022	1	3.7%
2023	3	11.1%

Which technologies does National Science Foundation patent most?

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 6

H04L - TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION 4

B01L - CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE 2

C12Q - MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS ; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES 2

C07K - PEPTIDES 2

C12N - MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA 2

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 2

Y02D - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE 2

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 2

C09K - MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE 2

C08F - MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS 2

B01D - SEPARATION 2

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION 2

H04B - TRANSMISSION 2

B01F - MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING 1

Top 15 of 54 technology areas

Grant record at a glance

Portfolio Volume 27 grants

CPC subclasses 54

Avg. claims / grant 15.7

Velocity -58%

Historical grant data only; it does not rate legal strength or current strategy.

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#11,359

of 50,000 tracked assignees

Innovation Score

51.3 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does National Science Foundation rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), National Science Foundation ranks #11,359 of 50,000 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 Science Foundation hold?

National Science Foundation holds 27 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2023, spanning 54 technology areas.

What is National Science Foundation's Innovation Score?

National Science Foundation has an Innovation Score of 51.3 out of 100 (top 12% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does National Science Foundation focus on?

National Science Foundation's top technology area is G06F (ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING) with 6 patents. Grants appear in 54 CPC subclasses total.

Is National Science Foundation's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

National Science Foundation's recent grant velocity is -58% 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 Science Foundation's patents?

National Science Foundation's patents average 15.7 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 Science Foundation 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

National's 27 grants land it in the top 12% 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 - National ranks #11,359 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in G06F - see who else leads that technology area. G06F 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

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.