Where does Sphero, Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Sphero, Inc. ranks #4,645 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 Sphero, Inc. hold?

Sphero, Inc. holds 76 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 31 technology areas.

What is Sphero, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Sphero, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 50.0 out of 100 (top 14% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Sphero, Inc. focus on?

Sphero, Inc.'s top technology area is G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables) with 44 patents, ranking #102 of 2,515 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 31 CPC subclasses total.

Is Sphero, Inc.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Sphero, Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -49% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Sphero, Inc.'s patents?

Sphero, Inc.'s patents average 17.4 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 Sphero, Inc. 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 US Corporation

Sphero, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 76 granted patents across 31 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: G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Sphero ranks #4,645 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 76 patents across 31 technology areas.

#4,645
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 14%
by Innovation Score (50.0/100): 17.4
avg claims per patent: -49%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R4645 · US Corporation #4,645 · 76 grants

GRANTS-SMALL · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-PAR · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-DROP · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-SMALL 76 grants
TOP-DECILE #4,645/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Preferred Networks
CPC-FOCUS G05D · 31 areas
INNOV-PAR 50.0/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.4 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DROP -49% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Preferred Networks, Inc. (±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 Sphero’s 50.0 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 15.0 pts (30%) Velocity 4.9 pts (10%) Breadth 19.7 pts (39%) Claim depth 10.4 pts (21%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
TP Lab · near

50
Esco Group · near

50
Messer Industries USA · near

50
Shenzhen Sensetime… · near

50
Sphero · this assignee

50
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Sphero's Innovation Score is 50.0/100 (top 14% 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 Sphero?

Each dot is one of Sphero’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). Sphero’s own 17.4 claims/patent is ABOVE the 17.0 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

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

Where Sphero's grants concentrate

Sphero, Inc. is a focused PatentsView assignee: 31 CPC subclasses with 57.9% of grants classified under G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables). Peak complete grant year is 2018 (16 grants) versus a trough of 3 in 2021. By volume, Sphero sits between Preferred Networks, Inc. and Sterlite Technologies Limited.

Sphero's three-year grant acceleration

Sphero, Inc. shows 14 grants in 2022–2024 against only 19 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.

Preferred Networks

76
Rochester Institu…

76
Samson Aktiengese…

76
Shanghai Research…

76
Sunnybrook Resear…

76
Scientific Games…

76
Smart Wires

76
Sterlite

76
Sphero ◀

76

What this shows Sphero holds 76 patents at rank #4,643, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Sphero

By rank, the assignees closest to #4,643 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Sphero, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables), Sphero ranks #102 of 2,515 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (50 here).

Esco Group LLC 50 Shenzhen Sensetime Technology Co., Ltd. 50 Messer Industries USA, Inc. 50 TP Lab, Inc. 50

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.4 here).

Trumpf Laser- UND Systemtechnik GMBH 17.4 avg Evalve, Inc. 17.4 avg Bundesdruckerei GMBH 17.4 avg The University of Birmingham 17.4 avg

Sphero's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

50 Top 14% higher than 86% 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

Sphero, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	5	6.6%
2016	12	15.8%
2017	5	6.6%
2018	16	21.1%
2019	9	11.8%
2020	7	9.2%
2021	3	3.9%
2022	5	6.6%
2023	5	6.6%
2024	4	5.3%
2025partial year	5	6.6%

Which technologies does Sphero, Inc. patent most?

G05D - Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables 44

A63H - Toys, e.g. Tops, Dolls, Hoops OR Building Blocks 40

B62D - Motor VEHICLES; Trailers 37

Y10S - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former Uspc Cross-reference ART Collections [XRACs] AND Digests 32

H04W - Wireless Communication Networks 11

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 11

B60R - Vehicles, Vehicle Fittings, OR Vehicle Parts, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 9

G08C - Transmission Systems FOR Measured Values, Control OR Similar Signals 8

A63F - Card, Board, OR Roulette GAMES; Indoor Games Using Small Moving Playing BODIES; Video GAMES; Games NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 7

H04L - Transmission OF Digital Information, e.g. Telegraphic Communication 6

Y02T - Climate Change Mitigation Technologies Related TO Transportation 6

G06V - Image OR Video Recognition OR Understanding 5

G06T - Image Data Processing OR Generation, IN General 5

B60L - Propulsion OF Electrically-propelled Vehicles ; Supplying Electric Power FOR Auxiliary Equipment OF Electrically-propelled Vehicles ; Electrodynamic Brake Systems FOR Vehicles IN General ; Magnetic Suspension OR Levitation FOR VEHICLES; Monitoring Operating Variables OF Electrically-propelled Vehicl 5

B25J - MANIPULATORS; Chambers Provided With Manipulation Devices 5

Top 15 of 31 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

Sphero, Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Sphero, Inc.'s lead technology class is G05D (Systems FOR Controlling OR Regulating Non-electric Variables), 57.9% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore G05D
Ranked #4,645 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Sphero, Inc. against Preferred Networks, Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 50.0/100 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.