Where does Veeco Instruments Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Veeco Instruments Inc. ranks #3,948 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 Veeco Instruments Inc. hold?

Veeco Instruments Inc. holds 92 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 31 technology areas.

What is Veeco Instruments Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Veeco Instruments Inc. has an Innovation Score of 45.8 out of 100 (top 22% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

Is Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -66% 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 Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patents?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patents average 14.1 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 Veeco Instruments 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

Veeco Instruments Inc.

Q: What technology areas does Veeco Instruments Inc. focus on?

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s top technology area is C23C (Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evaporation, BY Sputtering, BY ION Implantation OR BY Chemical Vapour Deposition, IN General) with 47 patents, ranking #57 of 1,658 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 31 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 92 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: C23C (Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evap).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Veeco ranks #3,948 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 92 patents across 31 technology areas.

#3,948
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 22%
by Innovation Score (45.8/100): 14.1
avg claims per patent: -66%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R3948 · US Corporation #3,948 · 92 grants

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

GRANTS-SMALL 92 grants
TOP-DECILE #3,948/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Shanghai Yanfeng…
CPC-FOCUS C23C · 31 areas
INNOV-PAR 45.8/100
CLAIMS-RICH 14.1 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-DROP -66% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Shanghai Yanfeng Jinqiao Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd. (±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 Veeco’s 45.8 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 15.7 pts (34%) Velocity 1.9 pts (4%) Breadth 19.7 pts (43%) Claim depth 8.5 pts (19%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Nordco · near

46
STC · near

46
Veeco Instruments · this assignee

46
Hover · near

46
RMH Tech · near

46
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Veeco's Innovation Score is 45.8/100 (top 22% 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 Veeco?

Each dot is one of Veeco’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). Veeco’s own 14.1 claims/patent is at or below the 14.6 median for these volume peers. Volume here does not track with deeper claims; several lower-volume peers claim more thoroughly per patent.

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

Where Veeco's grants concentrate

Veeco Instruments Inc. is a focused PatentsView assignee: 31 CPC subclasses with 51.1% of grants classified under C23C (Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evap). Peak complete grant year is 2019 (17 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2023. By volume, Veeco sits between Shanghai Yanfeng Jinqiao Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd. and Abiomed Europe GmbH.

Veeco's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Veeco Instruments Inc. moved from 31 to 9 grants (0.29x the prior three-year total, a multiple, not a CAGR). See the growth leaderboard.

Shanghai Yanfeng…

92
Shin-etsu Polymer

92
Tsann Kuen (Zhang…

92
UPL

92
Videojet

92
Watts Regulator

92
Willis Electric

92
Veeco Instruments ◀

92
Abiomed Europe

91

What this shows Veeco holds 92 patents at rank #3,948, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Veeco

By rank, the assignees closest to #3,948 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C23C (Coating Metallic Material)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Veeco, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In C23C (Coating Metallic Material), Veeco ranks #57 of 1,658 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (46 here).

STC, Inc. 46 Hover Inc. 46 RMH Tech LLC 46 Nordco Inc. 46

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (14.1 here).

B&R Industrial Automation GmbH 14.1 avg Biotronik AG 14.1 avg Agfa NV 14.1 avg Menicon Co., Ltd. 14.1 avg

Veeco's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

46 Top 22% higher than 78% 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

Veeco Instruments Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	10	10.9%
2016	13	14.1%
2017	14	15.2%
2018	13	14.1%
2019	17	18.5%
2020	9	9.8%
2021	5	5.4%
2022	7	7.6%
2023	1	1.1%
2024	1	1.1%
2025partial year	2	2.2%

Which technologies does Veeco Instruments Inc. patent most?

C23C - Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evaporation, BY Sputtering, BY ION Implantation OR BY Chemical Vapour Deposition, IN General 47

H01L - Semiconductor Devices NOT Covered BY Class H10 42

C30B - Single-crystal Growth ; Unidirectional Solidification OF Eutectic Material OR Unidirectional Demixing OF Eutectoid MATERIAL; Refining BY Zone-melting OF Material ; Production OF A Homogeneous Polycrystalline Material With Defined Structure ; Single Crystals OR Homogeneous Polycrystalline Material WI 14

H01J - Electric Discharge Tubes OR Discharge Lamps 8

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 8

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 6

B08B - Cleaning IN GENERAL; Prevention OF Fouling IN General 6

G01J - Measurement OF Intensity, Velocity, Spectral Content, Polarisation, Phase OR Pulse Characteristics OF Infrared, Visible OR Ultraviolet LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; Radiation Pyrometry 5

H10H - Inorganic Light-emitting Semiconductor Devices Having Potential Barriers 4

H10D - Inorganic Electric Semiconductor Devices 3

H05B - Electric HEATING; Electric Light Sources NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; Circuit Arrangements FOR Electric Light Sources, IN General 2

G02B - Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus 2

G01B - Measuring Length, Thickness OR Similar Linear DIMENSIONS; Measuring ANGLES; Measuring AREAS; Measuring Irregularities OF Surfaces OR Contours 2

B01D - Separation 2

B82Y - Specific Uses OR Applications OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Measurement OR Analysis OF NANOSTRUCTURES; Manufacture OR Treatment OF Nanostructures 1

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

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Veeco Instruments Inc.'s lead technology class is C23C (Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evap), 51.1% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore C23C
Ranked #3,948 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Veeco Instruments Inc. against Shanghai Yanfeng Jinqiao Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 45.8/100 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.