PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 190 granted patents across 36 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
190
Total patents granted
36
CPC technology areas
16.3
Avg claims per patent
+1527%
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Smith holds 190 US patents across 36 technology areas, rank #2,085 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#2,085
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 1%
by Innovation Score (69.1/100)
16.3
avg claims per patent
+1527%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag has been granted 190 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag at rank #2,085 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 36 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 16.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in A61B (DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION). As a Foreign Corporation, Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Smith sits between Ocado Innovation Limited (190 patents, rank #2,081) and GN Audio A/s (189 patents, rank #2,089) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 69.1/100 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 179 grants, compared with 11 in the 2015–2019 window, a +1527% shift in five-year velocity. An acceleration of this magnitude signals aggressive R&D investment and expanding technical ambition. 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. Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag's 16.3 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 36 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Who files at Smith's volume?

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

patents

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.

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

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.

Smith's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

69 Top 1% higher than 99% 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%). Below this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). This entry sits in this band. 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

-200204060 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 54
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%
2025 54 28.4%

Which technologies does Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag patent most?

Top 15 of 36 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

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

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#2,085

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

69.1 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 Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag hold?
Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag holds 190 US granted patents filed 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. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing 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. The company has filed patents in 36 CPC subclasses total.
Is Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag's recent filing velocity is +1527% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.
What does claim depth mean for Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag's patents?
Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag's patents average 16.3 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.
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.

How to use this portfolio

Smith's 190 grants land it in the top 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 - Smith ranks #2,085 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in A61B - see who else leads that technology area. A61B 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.