USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

VALE S.a.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 68 granted patents across 73 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: C22B (PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS ; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

15.3

Avg claims per patent

-58%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

VALE holds 68 US patents across 73 technology areas, rank #5,125 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#5,125
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 9%
by Innovation Score (53.3/100): 15.3
avg claims per patent: -58%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

VALE S.a. has been granted 68 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing VALE S.a. at rank #5,125 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 73 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 15.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in C22B (PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS ; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS). As a Foreign Corporation, VALE S.a. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, VALE sits between Transphorm Inc. (68 patents, rank #5,121) and Zodiac Aerotechnics (68 patents, rank #5,129) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 53.3/100 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 20 grants, compared with 48 in the 2015–2019 window, a -58% 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. VALE S.a.'s 15.3 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 73 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark VALE S.a. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Transphorm

68
Umbra

68
Ubicquia

68
United Kingdom Re…

68
Vactronix Scienti…

68
WD Media

68
Woven Planet Nort…

68
Zodiac Aerotechni…

68
VALE ◀

68

What this shows VALE holds 68 patents at rank #5,125, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near VALE

By rank, the assignees closest to #5,125 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C22B (Production AND Refining OF Metals)

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

VALE's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

53 Top 9% higher than 91% 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

VALE S.a. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	15	22.1%
2016	14	20.6%
2017	13	19.1%
2018	3	4.4%
2019	3	4.4%
2020	6	8.8%
2021	3	4.4%
2022	3	4.4%
2023	3	4.4%
2024	2	2.9%
2025	3	4.4%

Which technologies does VALE S.a. patent most?

C22B - PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS ; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS 22

Y02P - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS 10

B65G - TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS 7

G01V - GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS 7

B03D - FLOTATION; DIFFERENTIAL SEDIMENTATION 5

C21B - MANUFACTURE OF IRON OR STEEL 4

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 4

E02F - DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING 3

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 3

G01N - INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 3

G01R - MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES 3

E21B - EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS 3

B61F - RAIL VEHICLE SUSPENSIONS, e.g. UNDERFRAMES, BOGIES OR ARRANGEMENTS OF WHEEL AXLES; RAIL VEHICLES FOR USE ON TRACKS OF DIFFERENT WIDTH; PREVENTING DERAILING OF RAIL VEHICLES; WHEEL GUARDS, OBSTRUCTION REMOVERS OR THE LIKE FOR RAIL VEHICLES 2

G05D - SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES 2

G05B - CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS 2

Top 15 of 73 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#5,125

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

53.3 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 VALE S.a. hold?

VALE S.a. holds 68 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 73 technology areas.

What is VALE S.a.'s Innovation Score?

VALE S.a. has an Innovation Score of 53.3 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does VALE S.a. focus on?

VALE S.a.'s top technology area is C22B (PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS ; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS) with 22 patents. The company has filed patents in 73 CPC subclasses total.

Is VALE S.a.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

VALE S.a.'s recent filing velocity is -58% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for VALE S.a.'s patents?

VALE S.a.'s patents average 15.3 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the VALE S.a. 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

VALE's 68 grants land it in the top 9% 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 - VALE ranks #5,125 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in C22B - see who else leads that technology area. C22B 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.