PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

NSK Ltd.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 914 granted patents across 129 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
914
Total patents granted
129
CPC technology areas
9.2
Avg claims per patent
-21%
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

NSK holds 914 US patents across 129 technology areas, rank #487 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#487
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 4%
by Innovation Score (59.4/100)
9.2
avg claims per patent
-21%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

NSK Ltd. has been granted 914 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing NSK Ltd. at rank #487 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 129 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 9.2 claims per patent with primary concentration in B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS). As a Foreign Corporation, NSK Ltd. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, NSK sits between Battelle Memorial Institute (917 patents, rank #483) and Dyson Technology Limited (908 patents, rank #491) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 59.4/100 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 404 grants, compared with 510 in the 2015–2019 window, a -21% 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. NSK Ltd.'s 9.2 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 NSK Ltd. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Who files at NSK's volume?

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

patents

What this shows NSK holds 914 patents at rank #487, 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 NSK

By rank, the assignees closest to #487 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B62D (Motor Vehicles)

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

NSK's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

59 Top 4% higher than 96% 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%). Below this entry. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). This entry sits in this band. 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

20406080100120140 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 43
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
NSK Ltd. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2015 94 10.3%
2016 86 9.4%
2017 107 11.7%
2018 102 11.2%
2019 121 13.2%
2020 84 9.2%
2021 64 7.0%
2022 70 7.7%
2023 62 6.8%
2024 81 8.9%
2025 43 4.7%

Which technologies does NSK Ltd. patent most?

Top 15 of 129 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate
Tech Breadth Diversified
Claim Depth Simple
Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#487

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

59.4 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 NSK Ltd. hold?
NSK Ltd. holds 914 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 129 technology areas.
What is NSK Ltd.'s Innovation Score?
NSK Ltd. has an Innovation Score of 59.4 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does NSK Ltd. focus on?
NSK Ltd.'s top technology area is B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS) with 443 patents. The company has filed patents in 129 CPC subclasses total.
Is NSK Ltd.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
NSK Ltd.'s recent filing velocity is -21% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.
What does claim depth mean for NSK Ltd.'s patents?
NSK Ltd.'s patents average 9.2 claims each. This is relatively simple claim structure, typical for focused inventions.
How is the NSK Ltd. 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

NSK's 914 grants land it in the top 4% 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 - NSK ranks #487 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in B62D - see who else leads that technology area. B62D 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.