USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Smith & Nephew Plc

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 339 granted patents across 44 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: A61M (DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

339

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

17.3

Avg claims per patent

+69%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Smith holds 339 US patents across 44 technology areas, rank #1,248 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#1,248
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.0/100): 17.3
avg claims per patent: +69%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Smith & Nephew Plc has been granted 339 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Smith & Nephew Plc at rank #1,248 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 44 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 17.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in A61M (DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR). As a Foreign Corporation, Smith & Nephew Plc is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Smith sits between Parallel Wireless, Inc. (340 patents, rank #1,244) and Gambro Lundia AB (338 patents, rank #1,252) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 63.0/100 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 213 grants, compared with 126 in the 2015–2019 window, a +69% 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 Plc's 17.3 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 44 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Smith & Nephew Plc against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Parallel Wireless

340
Sonova

340
Wirtgen

340
HP Indigo B V

339
TOYO TIRE & Rubber

339
Tektronix

339
Smith & Nephew ◀

339
Bendix Commercial…

338
Gambro Lundia AB

338

What this shows Smith holds 339 patents at rank #1,248, 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 #1,248 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61M (Devices FOR Introducing Media INTO)

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)

63 Top 2% higher than 98% 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

Smith & Nephew Plc patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	22	6.5%
2016	15	4.4%
2017	26	7.7%
2018	36	10.6%
2019	27	8.0%
2020	27	8.0%
2021	39	11.5%
2022	26	7.7%
2023	50	14.7%
2024	50	14.7%
2025	21	6.2%

Which technologies does Smith & Nephew Plc patent most?

A61M - DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR 272

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 229

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION 55

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 25

F04B - POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS 12

A61N - ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY 11

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 11

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 9

H05K - PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS 9

B29C - SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING 7

C08G - MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS 6

C08L - COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS 5

B29L - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES 5

B32B - LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM 5

A61H - PHYSICAL THERAPY APPARATUS, e.g. DEVICES FOR LOCATING OR STIMULATING REFLEX POINTS IN THE BODY; ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION; MASSAGE; BATHING DEVICES FOR SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC OR HYGIENIC PURPOSES OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE BODY 4

Top 15 of 44 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#1,248

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

63.0 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 Plc hold?

Smith & Nephew Plc holds 339 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 44 technology areas.

What is Smith & Nephew Plc's Innovation Score?

Smith & Nephew Plc has an Innovation Score of 63.0 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 Plc focus on?

Smith & Nephew Plc's top technology area is A61M (DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY ; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR) with 272 patents. The company has filed patents in 44 CPC subclasses total.

Is Smith & Nephew Plc's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Smith & Nephew Plc's recent filing velocity is +69% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

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

Smith & Nephew Plc's patents average 17.3 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Smith & Nephew Plc 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 339 grants land it in the top 2% 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 #1,248 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in A61M - see who else leads that technology area. A61M 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.