PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

ZF Automotive UK Limited

USPTO PatentsView assignee record — 64 granted patents across 24 technology areas, active 2020–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
64
Total patents granted
24
CPC technology areas
13.8
Avg claims per patent
—
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

ZF holds 64 US patents across 24 technology areas — rank #5,416 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#5,416
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 17%
by Innovation Score (47.9/100)
13.8
avg claims per patent

Portfolio overview

ZF Automotive UK Limited has been granted 64 US utility patents between 2020 and 2025, placing ZF Automotive UK Limited at rank #5,416 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 24 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 13.8 claims per patent with primary concentration in B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS). As a Foreign Corporation, ZF Automotive UK Limited is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. The composite Innovation Score of 47.9/100 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. Historical data spans 2020 through 2025, with 64 total grants over that period. Velocity comparisons require five years of historical filings to calibrate. 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. ZF Automotive UK Limited's 13.8 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 24 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark ZF Automotive UK Limited against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

How does ZF compare?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus the largest corporate holders — this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows ZF holds 64 patents — placing it at rank #5,416 overall, well behind the volume leaders but ahead of the tens of thousands of smaller assignees in the dataset.

Source USPTO PatentsView — granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

ZF's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

48 Top 17% higher than 83% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). Below this entry. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). This entry sits in this band. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). Above this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

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 · 2020–2025

0510152025 202020212022202320242025 5
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2020–2025

Grants by year

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

View data table
ZF Automotive UK Limited patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2020 7 10.9%
2021 20 31.3%
2022 18 28.1%
2023 9 14.1%
2024 5 7.8%
2025 5 7.8%

Which technologies does ZF Automotive UK Limited patent most?

Top 15 of 24 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light
Tech Breadth Multi-domain
Claim Depth Standard

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#5,416

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

47.9 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 ZF Automotive UK Limited hold?
ZF Automotive UK Limited holds 64 US granted patents filed between 2020 and 2025, spanning 24 technology areas.
What is ZF Automotive UK Limited's Innovation Score?
ZF Automotive UK Limited has an Innovation Score of 47.9 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does ZF Automotive UK Limited focus on?
ZF Automotive UK Limited's top technology area is B62D (MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS) with 43 patents. The company has filed patents in 24 CPC subclasses total.
Is ZF Automotive UK Limited's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
Insufficient historical data is available to calculate a velocity trend for ZF Automotive UK Limited.
What does claim depth mean for ZF Automotive UK Limited's patents?
ZF Automotive UK Limited's patents average 13.8 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.
How is the ZF Automotive UK Limited 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.

Learn More

How Innovation Score Works

Understand the four dimensions behind the composite score
How to Read Patent Data

Plain-English guide to CPC codes, claims, and metrics
Patent Moat Analysis

How companies use patents as competitive barriers

How to use this portfolio

ZF's 64 grants land it in the top 17% 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 — ZF ranks #5,416 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in B62D — see who else leads that technology area. B62D 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.

Explore the patent dataset

B62D technology

ZF Automotive UK Limited's primary CPC class — all holders and yearly trends
Top 50 patent holders

See where ZF Automotive UK Limited ranks among the largest US patent assignees
All technology classes

Browse every CPC technology area by patent activity
How the score works

The four dimensions behind the Innovation Score

Related

All companies → | All technologies → | Rankings →
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