USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Nichia Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 2,544 granted patents across 159 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: H10H (INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

2,544

Total patents granted

159

CPC technology areas

15.3

Avg claims per patent

+52%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Nichia holds 2,544 US patents across 159 technology areas, rank #154 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#154
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (67.1/100): 15.3
avg claims per patent: +52%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Nichia Corporation has been granted 2,544 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Nichia Corporation at rank #154 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 159 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 15.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in H10H (INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS). As a Foreign Corporation, Nichia Corporation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Nichia sits between Omron Corporation (2,552 patents, rank #150) and The Board Of Regents Of The University Of Texas System (2,495 patents, rank #158) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 67.1/100 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 1,535 grants, compared with 1,009 in the 2015–2019 window, a +52% shift in five-year velocity. An acceleration of this magnitude signals aggressive R&D investment and expanding technical ambition. The Foreign 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. Nichia Corporation's 15.3 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a diversified footprint across 100+ CPC subclasses spreads risk across many technology fronts. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Nichia Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Omron

2,552
Commscope

2,550
United Services A…

2,549
Schaeffler & KG

2,548
Nichia ◀

2,544
Advanced Micro De…

2,513
T-mobile USA

2,513
Raytheon

2,501
The Board of Rege…

2,495

What this shows Nichia holds 2,544 patents at rank #154, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Nichia

By rank, the assignees closest to #154 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in H10H (Inorganic Light-emitting Semiconductor Devices Having Pot…)

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

Nichia's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

67 Top 1% higher than 99% 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 · 2015–2025

Grants by year

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

View data table

Nichia Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	117	4.6%
2016	163	6.4%
2017	217	8.5%
2018	223	8.8%
2019	289	11.4%
2020	303	11.9%
2021	299	11.8%
2022	272	10.7%
2023	280	11.0%
2024	223	8.8%
2025	158	6.2%

Which technologies does Nichia Corporation patent most?

H10H - INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS 1,693

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 1,186

F21V - FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 323

H01S - DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL 293

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 291

F21Y - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED 282

C09K - MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE 242

G02F - OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS 171

F21K - NON-ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES USING LUMINESCENCE; LIGHT SOURCES USING ELECTROCHEMILUMINESCENCE; LIGHT SOURCES USING CHARGES OF COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL; LIGHT SOURCES USING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES AS LIGHT-GENERATING ELEMENTS; LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 144

F21S - NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS 124

H05K - PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS 101

C01P - INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS 73

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 68

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 68

H05B - ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL 67

Top 15 of 159 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#154

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

67.1 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 Nichia Corporation hold?

Nichia Corporation holds 2,544 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 159 technology areas.

What is Nichia Corporation's Innovation Score?

Nichia Corporation has an Innovation Score of 67.1 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Nichia Corporation focus on?

Nichia Corporation's top technology area is H10H (INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS) with 1,693 patents. The company has filed patents in 159 CPC subclasses total.

Is Nichia Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Nichia Corporation's recent filing velocity is +52% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

What does claim depth mean for Nichia Corporation's patents?

Nichia Corporation's patents average 15.3 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Nichia 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.

How to use this portfolio

Nichia's 2,544 grants land it in the top 1% 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 - Nichia ranks #154 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in H10H - see who else leads that technology area. H10H 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.