USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Nikon Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 2,316 granted patents across 171 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

2,316

Total patents granted

171

CPC technology areas

20.0

Avg claims per patent

-27%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Nikon holds 2,316 US patents across 171 technology areas, rank #165 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#165
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (67.9/100): 20.0
avg claims per patent: -27%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Nikon Corporation has been granted 2,316 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Nikon Corporation at rank #165 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 171 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 20.0 claims per patent with primary concentration in G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS). As a Foreign Corporation, Nikon Corporation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Nikon sits between Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. (2,399 patents, rank #161) and Alibaba Group Holding Limited (2,299 patents, rank #169) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 67.9/100 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 981 grants, compared with 1,335 in the 2015–2019 window, a -27% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. 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. Nikon Corporation's 20.0 average claims per patent reflects complex, broadly scoped inventions that are difficult for competitors to design around, 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 Nikon Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Chengdu BOE Optoe…

2,399
Lenovo (Singapore…

2,375
ebay

2,351
Siemens Healthcare

2,329
Nikon ◀

2,316
Eaton Intelligent…

2,308
Volkswagen Aktien…

2,307
State Farm Mutual…

2,305
Alibaba Group Hol…

2,299

What this shows Nikon holds 2,316 patents at rank #165, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Nikon

By rank, the assignees closest to #165 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G02B (Optical Elements)

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

Nikon's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

68 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

Nikon Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	293	12.7%
2016	242	10.4%
2017	260	11.2%
2018	260	11.2%
2019	280	12.1%
2020	245	10.6%
2021	183	7.9%
2022	149	6.4%
2023	133	5.7%
2024	152	6.6%
2025	119	5.1%

Which technologies does Nikon Corporation patent most?

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 777

G03F - PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; 674

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 586

G03B - APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR 303

H10F - INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION 198

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 197

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 165

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 164

G01B - MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS 152

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 151

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 91

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 79

G01D - MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 63

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION 63

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 50

Top 15 of 171 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Complex

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#165

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

67.9 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 Nikon Corporation hold?

Nikon Corporation holds 2,316 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 171 technology areas.

What is Nikon Corporation's Innovation Score?

Nikon Corporation has an Innovation Score of 67.9 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Nikon Corporation focus on?

Nikon Corporation's top technology area is G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS) with 777 patents. The company has filed patents in 171 CPC subclasses total.

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

Nikon Corporation's recent filing velocity is -27% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

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

Nikon Corporation's patents average 20.0 claims each. This indicates complex, broadly scoped patents that are harder for competitors to design around.

How is the Nikon 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

Nikon's 2,316 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 - Nikon ranks #165 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in G02B - see who else leads that technology area. G02B 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.