Where does Smith & Nephew PLC rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Smith & Nephew PLC ranks #1,248 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 PLC hold?

Smith & Nephew PLC holds 339 US utility patents granted 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 (top 2% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

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

Smith & Nephew PLC's recent grant velocity is +52% 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 PLC's patents?

Smith & Nephew PLC's patents average 17.3 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 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.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

Smith & Nephew PLC

Q: 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, ranking #27 of 3,490 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 44 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 339 granted patents across 44 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: 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 by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Smith ranks #1,248 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 339 patents across 44 technology areas.

#1,248
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.0/100): 17.3
avg claims per patent: +52%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R1248 · Foreign Corporation #1,248 · 339 grants

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

GRANTS-MID 339 grants
TOP-DECILE #1,248/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH HP Indigo B V
CPC-WIDE A61M · 44 areas
INNOV-STRONG 63.0/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.3 claims/avg
TYPE-FRNCORP Foreign Corp
VEL-SURGE +52% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: HP Indigo B.V. (±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 63.0 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 20.1 pts (32%) Velocity 9.0 pts (14%) Breadth 23.5 pts (37%) Claim depth 10.4 pts (17%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Chengdu University… · near

63
E Ink Holdings · near

63
Hayward Industries · near

63
Smith & Nephew · this assignee

63
Spotify AB · near

63
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Smith's Innovation Score is 63.0/100 (top 2% 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 17.3 claims/patent is ABOVE the 16.0 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 PLC is a focused PatentsView assignee: 44 CPC subclasses with 80.2% of grants classified under 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). Peak complete grant year is 2023 (50 grants) versus a trough of 15 in 2016. By volume, Smith sits between Parallel Wireless, Inc. and Gambro Lundia AB.

Smith's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Smith & Nephew PLC moved from 93 to 126 grants (1.35x the prior three-year total, a multiple, not a CAGR). Among 3,296 tracked assignees with ≥100 grants and ≥20 prior-period grants, that multiple ranks #570. See the growth leaderboard.

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.

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Smith, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In A61M (Devices FOR Introducing Media Into), Smith ranks #27 of 3,490 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (63 here).

Spotify AB 63 E Ink Holdings Inc. 63 Hayward Industries, Inc. 63 Chengdu University OF Technology 63

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.3 here).

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 17.3 avg Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. 17.3 avg THE Regents OF THE University OF Michigan 17.3 avg Staton Techiya LLC 17.3 avg

Smith's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

63 Top 2% higher than 98% 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 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%
2025partial year	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

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 PLC's patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Smith & Nephew PLC's lead technology class 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), 80.2% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore A61M
Ranked #1,248 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Smith & Nephew PLC against Parallel Wireless, Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 63.0/100 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.