Align Technology has a total of 3108 patents globally, out of which 1866 have been granted. Of these 3108 patents, more than 72% patents are active. The USA is where Align Technology has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Europe (EPO) and China. Parallelly, the USA seems to be the main focused R&D centre of Align Technology.
Align Technology was founded in the year 1997 by Zia Chishti and Kelsey Wirth. The company designs, manufactures, and markets the invisalign system for treating malocclusion or the misalignment of teeth.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Align Technology which have been covered by us in this report and also you can find Align Technology patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Align Technology patent portfolio.
How many patents does Align Technology have?
Align Technology has a total of 3108 patents globally. These patents belong to 645 unique patent families. Out of 3108 patents, 2243 patents are active.
How many patent applications did Align Technology 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 | Align Technology Applications Filed | Align Technology Patents Granted |
| 2022 | 203 | 232 |
| 2021 | 218 | 252 |
| 2020 | 263 | 204 |
| 2019 | 269 | 160 |
| 2018 | 202 | 105 |
| 2017 | 172 | 122 |
| 2016 | 200 | 94 |
| 2015 | 255 | 51 |
| 2014 | 79 | 55 |
| 2013 | 90 | 52 |
| 2012 | 67 | 57 |
| 2011 | 64 | 70 |
How many Align Technology Patents are Alive/Dead?
What is the Count of Align Technology Patents in Different Countries?
Countries in which Align Technology filed patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States of America | 1431 |
| Europe | 323 |
| China | 285 |
| Japan | 176 |
| Germany | 155 |
| Australia | 87 |
| Spain | 75 |
| Korea (South) | 69 |
| Canada | 56 |
| Austria | 39 |
| United Kingdom | 29 |
| Denmark | 16 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 14 |
| Israel | 12 |
| Poland | 11 |
| Italy | 8 |
| Taiwan | 7 |
| Mexico | 7 |
| Philippines | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| India | 3 |
| Argentina | 3 |
| Singapore | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
Where are Research Centres of Align Technology Patents Located?
What Technologies are covered by Align Technology Patents?
Align Technology creates and adopts a wide range of technological innovations which can be clearly seen in the patents filed by them.
Dental aligners, also known as clear aligners, are orthodontic devices used to straighten teeth and correct misalignments without the need for traditional braces. They are transparent, removable, custom-made trays that are typically made of a clear plastic material.
The patent covered under this category include “Aligners with enhanced gable bends“which talks about the method for creating an Aligner to treat a patient’s teeth. The earlier orthodontic techniques and tools, such as braces, retainers, etc., to shift teeth, may not have been perfect in all cases. That called for the necessity for better orthodontic appliances which is described in the patent. The other patents covered under this are “Method to visualize and manufacture aligner by modifying tooth position” etc.
The patents under “Digital Dentistry” include Intraoral Scanners, Training machine learning models to perform aligner damage prediction, augmented reality enhancements for dental practitioners among many.
“Dental Tools” cover patents like “Dental arch width measurement tool”, “Surgical Dental Appliance” etc.
Among the patents which were filed 2022 onwards, the areas of technology that have been covered by Align Technology are mostly related to Aligners, Digital Dentistry and & Impression Tray.
The chart below distributes patents filed by Align Technology in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Align Technology thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How Align Technology’s Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
10 Best Align Technology Patents
US6572372B1 is the most popular patent in the Align Technology portfolio. It has received 601 citations so far from company like 3M Innovations.
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US6572372B1 | 601 |
| US6524101B1 | 565 |
| US6705863B2 | 551 |
| US6450807B1 | 523 |
| US6554611B2 | 510 |
| US6398548B1 | 510 |
| US6542249B1 | 459 |
| US6629840B2 | 437 |
| US6722880B2 | 407 |
| US6830450B2 | 372 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Align Technology patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Align Technology invention. They couldn’t because Align Technology had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO used 393 Align Technology patents in 1976 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the Align Technology patent portfolio are 3M Innovative Properties Company, 3Shape and Orametrix Inc.
List of the Companies who’s Patents were rejected citing Align Technology –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Align Technology Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| 3M Innovative Properties Company | 41 | 102 |
| 3Shape | 31 | 81 |
| Orametrix Inc | 25 | 85 |
| Ormco Corporation | 19 | 68 |
| Hps Investment Partners Llc | 18 | 87 |
| Dental Monitoring | 15 | 55 |
| Ivoclar Vivadent | 14 | 35 |
| Ulab Systems Inc | 13 | 80 |
| Dentsply Sirona | 12 | 37 |
| IBM | 11 | 21 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Align Technology Patents
Top Align Technology Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US8771149B2 | 22 |
| US20060275736A1 | 15 |
| US10888399B2 | 13 |
| US7698068B2 | 13 |
| US7481647B2 | 12 |
| US8024198B2 | 11 |
| US6542249B1 | 11 |
| US7333874B2 | 10 |
| US7319529B2 | 10 |
| US8496474B2 | 10 |
| US10695150B2 | 9 |
| US6697164B1 | 9 |
| US10470847B2 | 8 |
| US6524101B1 | 8 |
| US7536234B2 | 8 |
What Percentage of Align Technology US Patent Applications were Granted?
Align Technology (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 984 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 639 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 90.9%.
Below are the key stats of Align Technology patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Align Technology?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Shay Glenn Llp | 278 | 99.44% |
| Align Technology Inc | 227 | 95.11% |
| Lowenstein Sandler Llp | 185 | 99.14% |
| Townsend And Townsend And Crew | 56 | 91.07% |
| Nath Goldberg & Meyer | 43 | 93.02% |
| Fisherbroyles Llp | 38 | 100.00% |
| Wagner Blecher Llp | 30 | 46.67% |
| Fortem Ip Llp | 25 | 88.89% |
| Klein O Neill & Singh Llp | 20 | 100.00% |
| Paul Hastings Llp | 18 | 0.00% |
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