Where does Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG ranks #2,085 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG hold?

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG holds 190 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 36 technology areas.

What is Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's Innovation Score?

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG has an Innovation Score of 69.1 out of 100 (top 1% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG focus on?

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's top technology area is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification) with 154 patents, ranking #123 of 7,127 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 36 CPC subclasses total.

Is Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's recent grant velocity is +1036% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). This indicates accelerating grant output.

What does claim depth mean for Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's patents?

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's patents average 16.3 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

How is the Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG 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.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 190 granted patents across 36 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2025. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Smith ranks #2,085 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 190 patents across 36 technology areas.

#2,085
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (69.1/100): 16.3
avg claims per patent: +1036%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R2085 · Foreign Corporation #2,085 · 190 grants

GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-STRONG · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-FRNCORP · VEL-SURGE · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MID 190 grants
TOP-DECILE #2,085/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Ocado Innovation
CPC-FOCUS A61B · 36 areas
INNOV-STRONG 69.1/100
CLAIMS-RICH 16.3 claims/avg
TYPE-FRNCORP Foreign Corp
VEL-SURGE +1036% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Ocado Innovation Limited (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How Smith’s 69.1 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 18.1 pts (26%) Velocity 20.0 pts (29%) Breadth 21.2 pts (31%) Claim depth 9.8 pts (14%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Covestro Intellectua… · near

69
Itron · near

69
Smith & Nephew… · this assignee

69
Tongji University · near

69
Intrinsic Innovation · near

69
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Smith's Innovation Score is 69.1/100 (top 1% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for Smith?

Each dot is one of Smith’s 8 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). Smith’s own 16.3 claims/patent is ABOVE the 15.9 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

Smith vs its 8 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

Where Smith's grants concentrate

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG is a focused PatentsView assignee: 36 CPC subclasses with 81.1% of grants classified under A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification). Peak complete grant year is 2024 (48 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2018. By volume, Smith sits between Ocado Innovation Limited and GN Audio A/S.

Smith's three-year grant acceleration

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG shows 109 grants in 2022–2024 against only 18 in 2019–2021. That prior window is too thin for a growth multiple (rename and spin-out assignees look artificially high when the baseline is near zero), so PlainPatent withholds a ranked acceleration claim here.

Ocado Innovation

190
Richwave Technolo…

190
Rigel Pharmaceuti…

190
Shionogi &

190
Volvo Lastvagnar…

190
Smith & Nephew Or… ◀

190
Allscripts Softwa…

189
Chiesi Farmaceuti…

189
GN Audio A/S

189

What this shows Smith holds 190 patents at rank #2,085, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Smith

By rank, the assignees closest to #2,085 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61B (Diagnosis)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Smith, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In A61B (Diagnosis), Smith ranks #123 of 7,127 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (69 here).

Tongji University 69 Itron, Inc. 69 Intrinsic Innovation LLC 69 Covestro Intellectual Property GmbH & Co. KG 69

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (16.3 here).

Giesecke & Devrient GMBH 16.3 avg Carl Zeiss AG 16.3 avg Avigilon Corporation 16.3 avg Alcatel Lucent 16.3 avg

Smith's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

69 Top 1% higher than 99% of 49,997 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

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	2	1.1%
2016	4	2.1%
2017	2	1.1%
2018	1	0.5%
2019	2	1.1%
2020	7	3.7%
2021	9	4.7%
2022	32	16.8%
2023	29	15.3%
2024	48	25.3%
2025partial year	54	28.4%

Which technologies does Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG patent most?

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 154

A61F - Filters Implantable Into Blood VESSELS; PROSTHESES; Devices Providing Patency TO, OR Preventing Collapsing OF, Tubular Structures OF THE Body, e.g. STENTS; Orthopaedic, Nursing OR Contraceptive DEVICES; FOMENTATION; Treatment OR Protection OF Eyes OR EARS; Bandages, Dressings OR Absorbent PADS; Firs 69

G16H - Healthcare Informatics, i.e. Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR THE Handling OR Processing OF Medical OR Healthcare Data 47

Y02A - Technologies FOR Adaptation TO Climate Change 31

G06T - Image Data Processing OR Generation, IN General 26

G06N - Computing Arrangements Based ON Specific Computational Models 23

G09B - Educational OR Demonstration APPLIANCES; Appliances FOR Teaching, OR Communicating With, THE Blind, Deaf OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; Diagrams 13

G02B - Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus 12

G06V - Image OR Video Recognition OR Understanding 6

A61G - Transport, Personal Conveyances, OR Accommodation Specially Adapted FOR Patients OR Disabled Persons ; Operating Tables OR CHAIRS; Chairs FOR DENTISTRY; Funeral Devices 4

H04N - Pictorial Communication, e.g. Television 3

G01B - Measuring Length, Thickness OR Similar Linear DIMENSIONS; Measuring ANGLES; Measuring AREAS; Measuring Irregularities OF Surfaces OR Contours 3

F04B - Positive-displacement Machines FOR LIQUIDS; Pumps 3

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 3

A61L - Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects IN GENERAL; Disinfection, Sterilisation OR Deodorisation OF AIR; Chemical Aspects OF Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical ARTICLES; Materials FOR Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical Articles 3

Top 15 of 36 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG's lead technology class is A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification), 81.1% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore A61B
Ranked #2,085 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics AG against Ocado Innovation Limited, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 69.1/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

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 by PlainPatent , US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · 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.