Overall rank by patents
#3,213
of 49,997 tracked assignees
USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 117 granted patents across 107 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: G02B (Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus).
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, The ranks #3,213 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 117 patents across 107 technology areas.
USPTO PatentsView assignee plate
Corpus R3213 · US Corporation #3,213 · 117 grants
GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-PAR · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-DROP · BOOK-FULL
Nearest grant-volume peer: SmartDrive Systems, 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.
Lowest and highest poles plus nearest Innovation Score peers, not a full corpus board reprint.
Qualcomm Incorporated · highest
85 score
S P C M · near
55 score
Hunting Titan · near
55 score
Sensortek Technology · near
55 score
The University Of… · this assignee
55 score
Yazaki Energy System · near
55 score
3D Lighting… · lowest
7 score
What this shows The's Innovation Score is 54.9/100 (top 7% 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.
Between 2020–2024, The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte received 31 grants versus 78 in 2015–2019 (-60% equal-window velocity, below median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2017 at 20 grants and bottomed in 2022 at 4. Lead class G02B accounts for 14.5% of the portfolio across 107 subclasses. Volume neighbours: SmartDrive Systems, Inc. (#3,209) and Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (#3,217).
From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte moved from 32 to 13 grants (0.41x 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 #2,868. See the growth leaderboard.
Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus its nearest-ranked assignees by volume, this company marked ◀
SmartDrive Systems, Inc.
117 patents
Takasago International Corporation
117 patents
Tectus Corporation
117 patents
Teleflex Life Sciences LLC
117 patents
Universite DE Paris Descartes
117 patents
West Pharma. Services IL, Ltd.
117 patents
Woodpeckers, LLC
117 patents
Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
117 patents
The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte
117 patents
What this shows The holds 117 patents at rank #3,213, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.
By rank, the assignees closest to #3,213 in granted patent volume.
Other assignees with the most granted patents in The's primary technology class.
Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for The, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above).
Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (55 here).
Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.9 here).
The's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee
Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)
55 Top 7% higher than 93% 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
Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.
| Year | Patents Granted | Share of Period |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9 | 7.7% |
| 2016 | 15 | 12.8% |
| 2017 | 20 | 17.1% |
| 2018 | 20 | 17.1% |
| 2019 | 14 | 12.0% |
| 2020 | 12 | 10.3% |
| 2021 | 6 | 5.1% |
| 2022 | 4 | 3.4% |
| 2023 | 4 | 3.4% |
| 2024 | 5 | 4.3% |
| 2025partial year | 8 | 6.8% |
Top 15 of 107 technology areas
Overall rank by patents
#3,213
of 49,997 tracked assignees
54.9 out of 100
What to do with this data
The University Of North Carolina At Charlotte's patent record in context - here's where to go next.
Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.
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.