PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

North Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 120 granted patents across 35 technology areas, active 2018–2020. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
120
Total patents granted
35
CPC technology areas
14.4
Avg claims per patent
-52%
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

North holds 120 US patents across 35 technology areas, rank #3,139 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#3,139
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 22%
by Innovation Score (46.1/100)
14.4
avg claims per patent
-52%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

North Inc. has been granted 120 US utility patents between 2018 and 2020, placing North Inc. at rank #3,139 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 35 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 14.4 claims per patent with primary concentration in G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS). As a Foreign Corporation, North Inc. is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, North sits between K-tronics (suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. (120 patents, rank #3,135) and Sercel, Inc (120 patents, rank #3,143) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 46.1/100 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 39 grants, compared with 81 in the 2015–2019 window, a -52% 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. North Inc.'s 14.4 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 35 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark North Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Who files at North's volume?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus its nearest-ranked assignees by volume, this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows North holds 120 patents at rank #3,139, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

Companies ranked near North

By rank, the assignees closest to #3,139 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G02B (Optical Elements)

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

North's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

46 Top 22% higher than 78% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). Below this entry. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). This entry sits in this band. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). Above this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

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

-20020406080100 201820192020 39
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2018–2020

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2018–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table
North Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2018 2 1.7%
2019 79 65.8%
2020 39 32.5%

Which technologies does North Inc. patent most?

Top 15 of 35 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate
Tech Breadth Multi-domain
Claim Depth Standard
Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#3,139

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

46.1 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 North Inc. hold?
North Inc. holds 120 US granted patents filed between 2018 and 2020, spanning 35 technology areas.
What is North Inc.'s Innovation Score?
North Inc. has an Innovation Score of 46.1 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does North Inc. focus on?
North Inc.'s top technology area is G02B (OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS) with 96 patents. The company has filed patents in 35 CPC subclasses total.
Is North Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
North Inc.'s recent filing velocity is -52% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.
What does claim depth mean for North Inc.'s patents?
North Inc.'s patents average 14.4 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.
How is the North Inc. 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

North's 120 grants land it in the top 22% 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 - North ranks #3,139 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

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.