USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 842 granted patents across 157 technology areas, active 2015–2022. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: C22C (ALLOYS).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

842

Total patents granted

157

CPC technology areas

8.8

Avg claims per patent

-99%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Nippon holds 842 US patents across 157 technology areas, rank #533 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#533
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 9%
by Innovation Score (53.7/100): 8.8
avg claims per patent: -99%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation has been granted 842 US utility patents between 2015 and 2022, placing Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation at rank #533 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 157 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 8.8 claims per patent with primary concentration in C22C (ALLOYS). As a Foreign Corporation, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Nippon sits between Microchip Technology Incorporated (851 patents, rank #529) and ABL IP Holding Llc (830 patents, rank #537) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 53.7/100 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 7 grants, compared with 835 in the 2015–2019 window, a -99% 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. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's 8.8 average claims per patent suggests focused, narrowly drawn claims typical of single-invention filings, 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 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Microchip Technol…

851
Semiconductor Man…

848
OPEN Invention Ne…

845
Hilti Aktiengesel…

842
Nippon Steel & Su… ◀

842
Chongqing BOE Opt…

841
Exxonmobil Upstre…

841
Conopco

831
ABL IP Holding

830

What this shows Nippon holds 842 patents at rank #533, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Nippon

By rank, the assignees closest to #533 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C22C (Alloys)

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

Nippon's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

54 Top 9% higher than 91% 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 · 2015–2022

Grants by year

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

View data table

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	167	19.8%
2016	160	19.0%
2017	169	20.1%
2018	196	23.3%
2019	143	17.0%
2020	3	0.4%
2021	2	0.2%
2022	2	0.2%

Which technologies does Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation patent most?

C22C - ALLOYS 420

C21D - MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING 357

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 203

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 179

B32B - LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM 113

B21B - ROLLING OF METAL 110

B21D - WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL 86

B23K - SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM 67

F16L - PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL 55

Y02P - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS 55

C25D - PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTION OF COATINGS; ELECTROFORMING; APPARATUS THEREFOR 50

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 49

B22D - CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES 46

B21C - MANUFACTURE OF METAL SHEETS, WIRE, RODS, TUBES, PROFILES OR LIKE SEMI-MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OTHERWISE THAN BY ROLLING; AUXILIARY OPERATIONS USED IN CONNECTION WITH METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL 37

C22F - CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS 36

Top 15 of 157 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Simple

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#533

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

53.7 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 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation hold?

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation holds 842 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2022, spanning 157 technology areas.

What is Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's Innovation Score?

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation has an Innovation Score of 53.7 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation focus on?

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's top technology area is C22C (ALLOYS) with 420 patents. The company has filed patents in 157 CPC subclasses total.

Is Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's recent filing velocity is -99% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's patents?

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation's patents average 8.8 claims each. This is relatively simple claim structure, typical for focused inventions.

How is the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal 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

Nippon's 842 grants land it in the top 9% 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 - Nippon ranks #533 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in C22C - see who else leads that technology area. C22C 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.