Whatsapp has a total of 150 patents globally, out of which 9 have been granted. Of these 150 patents, more than 77% patents are active. The United States of America is where Whatsapp has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Europe and Germany. Parallelly, the United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D centre and also is the origin country of Whatsapp.
Whatsapp was founded in the year 2009. Whatsapp offers instant messaging and mobile communication services. Users can exchange messages using the company’s cross-platform mobile messaging software.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Whatsapp which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Whatsapp patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Whatsapp patent portfolio.
How many patents does the founder and the CEO of Whatsapp have?
The founder Brian Acton has 113 patents, Jan Koum Hanes have 85 patents.
How many patents does Whatsapp have?
Whatsapp has a total of 150 patents globally. These patents belong to 76 unique patent families. Out of 150 patents, 146 patents are active.
How Many Patents did Whatsapp File Every Year?
Are you wondering why there is a drop in patent filing for the last two years? It is because a patent application can take up to 18 months to get published. Certainly, it doesn’t suggest a decrease in the patent filing.
| Year of Patents Filing or Grant | Whatsapp Applications Filed | Whatsapp Patents Granted |
| 2022 | 4 | 13 |
| 2021 | 8 | 25 |
| 2020 | 20 | 27 |
| 2019 | 17 | 27 |
| 2018 | 23 | 15 |
| 2017 | 30 | 8 |
| 2016 | 12 | 9 |
| 2015 | 16 | 4 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2 |
| 2013 | 6 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | – |
| 2010 | 3 | – |
How many Whatsapp patents are Alive/Dead?
How Many Patents did Whatsapp File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Whatsapp Filed Patents
| Country | Patent |
| United States of America | 138 |
| Europe | 7 |
| Germany | 4 |
| Taiwan | 1 |
Where are Research Centres of Whatsapp Patents Located?
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Whatsapp patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Whatsapp invention. They couldn’t because Whatsapp had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO used 30 Whatsapp patents in 108 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the Whatsapp patent portfolio are Apple, Tencent and Microsoft.
List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Whatsapp –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Whatsapp Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| Apple | 5 | 10 |
| Tencent | 5 | 8 |
| Microsoft | 3 | 7 |
| Samsung | 3 | 3 |
| Line | 2 | 5 |
| Cisco Technology | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | |
| 2 | 2 | |
| IBM | 2 | 4 |
| Paypal | 1 | 1 |
Top Whatsapp Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US10778831B2 | 7 |
| US9419935B2 | 6 |
| US10129412B1 | 4 |
| US9934600B2 | 4 |
| US9628831B2 | 3 |
| US10567217B2 | 3 |
| US9226121B2 | 3 |
| US10460499B2 | 3 |
| US9749178B2 | 3 |
| US9473428B1 | 2 |
| US10582036B2 | 2 |
| US10678401B2 | 2 |
| US9832643B2 | 2 |
| US10681202B2 | 1 |
| US20170078240A1 | 1 |
What Percentage of Whatsapp US Patent Applications were Granted?
Whatsapp (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 108 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 98 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 96.08%.
Below are the key stats of Whatsapp patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Whatsapp?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Kdb Firm | 85 | 95.24% |
| Keller Preece | 12 | 100% |
| Facebook Fenwick | 8 | 100% |
| Lee & Hayes | 2 | 0% |
| Mcdermott Will & Emery | 1 | 0% |