USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

SK Hynix Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 9,830 granted patents across 115 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G11C (STATIC STORES).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

9,830

Total patents granted

115

CPC technology areas

16.4

Avg claims per patent

+15%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

SK holds 9,830 US patents across 115 technology areas, rank #34 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#34
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 0.1%
by Innovation Score (73.4/100): 16.4
avg claims per patent: +15%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

SK Hynix Inc. has been granted 9,830 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing SK Hynix Inc. at rank #34 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 115 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 16.4 claims per patent with primary concentration in G11C (STATIC STORES). As a Foreign Corporation, SK Hynix Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, SK sits between Cisco Technology, Inc. (10,299 patents, rank #30) and AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.p. (9,554 patents, rank #38) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 73.4/100 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 5,267 grants, compared with 4,563 in the 2015–2019 window, a +15% shift in five-year velocity. Steady filing volume suggests sustained innovation without dramatic pivots. 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. SK Hynix Inc.'s 16.4 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 SK Hynix Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Cisco Technology

10,299
Ricoh

10,223
Dell Products

10,222
Texas Instruments…

9,915
SK hynix ◀

9,830
NEC

9,672
Fujitsu

9,654
Koniniklijke Phil…

9,647
AT&T Intellectual…

9,554

What this shows SK holds 9,830 patents at rank #34, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near SK

By rank, the assignees closest to #34 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G11C (Static Stores)

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

SK's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

73 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

SK Hynix Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	889	9.0%
2016	1,124	11.4%
2017	943	9.6%
2018	800	8.1%
2019	807	8.2%
2020	939	9.6%
2021	964	9.8%
2022	1,130	11.5%
2023	884	9.0%
2024	748	7.6%
2025	602	6.1%

Which technologies does SK Hynix Inc. patent most?

G11C - STATIC STORES 4,635

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 3,218

H10B - ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES 1,982

H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10 1,653

H10D - INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES 1,205

H03K - PULSE TECHNIQUE 699

H10N - ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 563

Y02D - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE 482

H03M - CODING; DECODING; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL 414

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 378

H10F - INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION 289

G01R - MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES 225

H04L - TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION 163

G05F - SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES 147

G06N - COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS 144

Top 15 of 115 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Growing

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#34

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

73.4 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 SK Hynix Inc. hold?

SK Hynix Inc. holds 9,830 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 115 technology areas.

What is SK Hynix Inc.'s Innovation Score?

SK Hynix Inc. has an Innovation Score of 73.4 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does SK Hynix Inc. focus on?

SK Hynix Inc.'s top technology area is G11C (STATIC STORES) with 4,635 patents. The company has filed patents in 115 CPC subclasses total.

Is SK Hynix Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

SK Hynix Inc.'s recent filing velocity is +15% compared to the prior five-year period. The company is maintaining or growing its patent output.

What does claim depth mean for SK Hynix Inc.'s patents?

SK Hynix Inc.'s patents average 16.4 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the SK Hynix 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

SK's 9,830 grants land it in the top 0.1% 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 - SK ranks #34 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in G11C - see who else leads that technology area. G11C 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.