USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Skype

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 109 granted patents across 18 technology areas, active 2015–2020. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: H04L (TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

109

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

22.4

Avg claims per patent

-98%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Skype holds 109 US patents across 18 technology areas, rank #3,410 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#3,410
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 25%
by Innovation Score (44.7/100): 22.4
avg claims per patent: -98%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Skype has been granted 109 US utility patents between 2015 and 2020, placing Skype at rank #3,410 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 18 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 22.4 claims per patent with primary concentration in H04L (TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION). As a Foreign Corporation, Skype is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Skype sits between Shanghai Institute OF Materia Medica, Chinese Academy OF Sciences (109 patents, rank #3,406) and TEL Hashomer Medical Research Infrastructure AND Services Ltd. (109 patents, rank #3,414) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 44.7/100 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 2 grants, compared with 107 in the 2015–2019 window, a -98% 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. Skype's 22.4 average claims per patent reflects complex, broadly scoped inventions that are difficult for competitors to design around, while concentration in 18 subclasses points to a focused technical program. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Skype against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Shanghai Institut…

109
Siemens Product L…

109
SIG Technology

109
Silgan Dispensing…

109
Stepan

109
Salk Institute fo…

109
Storedot

109
TEL Hashomer Medi…

109
Skype ◀

109

What this shows Skype holds 109 patents at rank #3,410, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Skype

By rank, the assignees closest to #3,410 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in H04L (Transmission OF Digital Information)

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

Skype's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

45 Top 25% higher than 75% 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 · 2015–2020

Grants by year

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

View data table

Skype patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	38	34.9%
2016	32	29.4%
2017	20	18.3%
2018	7	6.4%
2019	10	9.2%
2020	2	1.8%

Which technologies does Skype patent most?

H04L - TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION 61

H04M - TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION 35

H04W - WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS 22

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 22

G10L - SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING 20

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 19

G06Q - INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 9

H04R - LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS 8

G01S - RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES 3

G08B - SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS 2

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 2

H04B - TRANSMISSION 1

G09G - ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION 1

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 1

H03G - CONTROL OF AMPLIFICATION 1

Top 15 of 18 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Focused

Claim Depth Complex

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#3,410

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

44.7 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 Skype hold?

Skype holds 109 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2020, spanning 18 technology areas.

What is Skype's Innovation Score?

Skype has an Innovation Score of 44.7 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Skype focus on?

Skype's top technology area is H04L (TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION) with 61 patents. The company has filed patents in 18 CPC subclasses total.

Is Skype's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Skype's recent filing velocity is -98% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Skype's patents?

Skype's patents average 22.4 claims each. This indicates complex, broadly scoped patents that are harder for competitors to design around.

How is the Skype 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

Skype's 109 grants land it in the top 25% 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 - Skype ranks #3,410 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in H04L - see who else leads that technology area. H04L 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.