USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

University Of The Witwatersrand

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 6 granted patents across 14 technology areas, active 2015–2024. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B23K (SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

17.2

Avg claims per patent

-80%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

University holds 6 US patents across 14 technology areas, rank #43,841 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#43,841
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 45%
by Innovation Score (36.9/100): 17.2
avg claims per patent: -80%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

University Of The Witwatersrand has been granted 6 US utility patents between 2015 and 2024, placing University Of The Witwatersrand at rank #43,841 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 14 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 17.2 claims per patent with primary concentration in B23K (SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM). As a Foreign Corporation, University Of The Witwatersrand is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, University sits between University Of South China (6 patents, rank #43,837) and Universo S.a. (6 patents, rank #43,845) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 36.9/100 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 1 grants, compared with 5 in the 2015–2019 window, a -80% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. 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. University Of The Witwatersrand's 17.2 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while concentration in 14 subclasses points to a focused technical program. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark University Of The Witwatersrand against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

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What this shows University holds 6 patents at rank #43,841, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near University

By rank, the assignees closest to #43,841 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B23K (Soldering OR Unsoldering)

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

University's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

37 Top 45% higher than 55% 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 · 2015–2024

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

University Of The Witwatersrand patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	2	33.3%
2016	2	33.3%
2019	1	16.7%
2024	1	16.7%

Which technologies does University Of The Witwatersrand patent most?

B23K - SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM 2

C21D - MODIFYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF FERROUS METALS; GENERAL DEVICES FOR HEAT TREATMENT OF FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS METALS OR ALLOYS; MAKING METAL MALLEABLE, e.g. BY DECARBURISATION OR TEMPERING 2

H01M - PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY 1

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 1

C07H - SUGARS; DERIVATIVES THEREOF; NUCLEOSIDES; NUCLEOTIDES; NUCLEIC ACIDS 1

A61K - PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES 1

C01B - NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C 1

B82Y - SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES 1

B01J - CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS 1

G10L - SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING 1

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 1

C22F - CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS 1

B22F - WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER ; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER 1

C22C - ALLOYS 1

Top 14 of 14 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light

Tech Breadth Focused

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#43,841

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

36.9 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 University Of The Witwatersrand hold?

University Of The Witwatersrand holds 6 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2024, spanning 14 technology areas.

What is University Of The Witwatersrand's Innovation Score?

University Of The Witwatersrand has an Innovation Score of 36.9 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does University Of The Witwatersrand focus on?

University Of The Witwatersrand's top technology area is B23K (SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM) with 2 patents. The company has filed patents in 14 CPC subclasses total.

Is University Of The Witwatersrand's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

University Of The Witwatersrand's recent filing velocity is -80% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for University Of The Witwatersrand's patents?

University Of The Witwatersrand's patents average 17.2 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the University Of The Witwatersrand 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

University's 6 grants land it in the top 45% 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 - University ranks #43,841 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in B23K - see who else leads that technology area. B23K 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.