Apple is founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and operates as a consumer electronics company. Find Apple patents information, top technological areas of Apple, worldwide patent filing of Apple and patent filing trend over the years and find so many other stats over the Apple patents portfolio.
Do read about some interesting highlights of the Apple Smart Ring, Apple Foldable Phone, Apple Facial Recognition and Apple’s Biosensing AirPods Patent portfolio.
Also, apple has confirmed John Ternus will become CEO in September 2026. Before he takes charge, explore John Ternus’s patents that reflect his role in shaping Apple’s innovation.
Apple Innovation Prediction Roadmap: 2025-2030
The insights and projections presented in this article are based on predictive analysis, current patent analysis that have been done, and publicly available information as of 2025. While care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the forward-looking statements are speculative and should not be interpreted as definitive strategic actions by Apple or its affiliates. This content is intended for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice.
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How many patents does Apple have?
Apple has a total of 132542 patents globally. These patents belong to 59806 unique patent families. Out of 132542 patents, 101342 patents are active.
Want to stay ahead in your key focus areas and surface high-value patents? Start patent monitoring that tracks what truly matters.
How many Apple patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did Apple 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 | Apple Applications Filed | Apple Patents Granted |
| 2026 | 91 | 2003 |
| 2025 | 3842 | 6981 |
| 2024 | 7828 | 7148 |
| 2023 | 10128 | 5559 |
| 2022 | 10451 | 5796 |
| 2021 | 9979 | 6614 |
| 2020 | 12696 | 5217 |
| 2019 | 8659 | 4922 |
| 2018 | 7886 | 4581 |
| 2017 | 6122 | 4949 |
How Many Patents did Apple File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Apple Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States of America | 59376 |
| China | 19138 |
| Europe (EPO) | 10799 |
| Korea (South) | 6778 |
| Japan | 5497 |
| Australia | 4523 |
| India | 3730 |
| Taiwan | 2784 |
| Germany | 2441 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 1568 |
| Canada | 1425 |
| United Kingdom | 1370 |
| Brazil | 867 |
| Denmark | 459 |
| Mexico | 349 |
| Viet Nam | 269 |
| Singapore | 166 |
| Russia | 152 |
| Netherlands | 121 |
| Indonesia | 88 |
| Chile | 85 |
| Spain | 84 |
| Austria | 75 |
| Thailand | 70 |
| Finland | 62 |
| South Africa | 51 |
| Malaysia | 49 |
| Israel | 44 |
| Colombia | 42 |
| New Zealand | 37 |
| France | 37 |
| Poland | 31 |
| Uruguay | 30 |
| Argentina | 27 |
| Philippines | 25 |
| Sweden | 22 |
| Norway | 21 |
| Turkey | 16 |
| United Arab Emirates | 12 |
| Switzerland | 7 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6 |
| Ecuador | 5 |
| Portugal | 5 |
| Guatemala | 4 |
| Italy | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Montenegro | 1 |
| Bosnia And Herzegovina | 1 |
Where are Research Centres of Apple Patents Located?
Top Patents Contributing subsidiaries of Apple?
What Technologies are Covered by Apple Patents?
Do read our analysis on Apple Facial Recognition!
The chart below distributes patents filed by Apple in different countries based on the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Apple thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
Where are Research Centers of Apple Located?
R&D Focus: How Apple Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
Given technical insights are based on the (published 2022), would you like to know what Apple updated in technical segments and where Apple increased its filing? Fill out the form to get the details.
10 Best Apple Patents
US7657849B2 is the most popular patent in the Apple portfolio. It has received 4069 citations so far from companies like Sony, LG and Google.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Apple:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US7657849B2 | 4069 |
| US20060033724A1 | 3439 |
| US7614008B2 | 3122 |
| US8279180B2 | 2906 |
| US8239784B2 | 2600 |
| US7844914B2 | 2597 |
| US8479122B2 | 2139 |
| US9933937B2 | 1736 |
| US7653883B2 | 1595 |
| US7046230B2 | 1419 |
Which Companies are using Apple Patents to Advance their Research?
If patents or patents from a particular technology area of a company receive a lot of citations, it implies that the technology is being followed and incrementally innovated by the citing companies. It also indicates that citing companies are working on similar and closely related technologies.
The top-cited technologies in the Apple patent portfolio are Software & Services, Telecom & User Interface. Samsung, Microsoft, and Qualcomm as the top forward citing assignees.
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Samsung | 5016 |
| Microsoft | 2573 |
| Qualcomm | 2034 |
| 1824 | |
| Sony | 1556 |
| LG | 1492 |
| IBM | 1483 |
| Intel | 1309 |
| Blackberry | 872 |
| Nokia | 819 |
| Huawei | 770 |
| Canon | 574 |
| Amazon | 469 |
| BOE | 450 |
| 422 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Apple patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Apple. They couldn’t because Apple had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO used 16073 Apple patents in 147239 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types). Below is the distribution of the number of blocked patent applications vs the technology cluster of Apple patents.
What Percentage of Apple US Patent Applications were Granted?
Apple (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 47467 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 36904 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 89.39%.
Below are the key stats of Apple patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms are managing US Patents for Apple?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Kowert Hood Munyon Rankin & Goetzel | 7872 | 89.28% |
| Treyz Law Group | 3536 | 90.43% |
| Womble Bond Dickinson US Llp | 3051 | 94.84% |
| Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Llp | 2848 | 88.62% |
| Dla Piper Llp | 2514 | 88.88% |
| Dickinson Wright Rllp | 2045 | 88.55% |
| Brownstein | 2023 | 88.36% |
| Blank Rome Llp | 1778 | 83.08% |
| Bakerhostetler | 1701 | 75.91% |
| Fish & Richardson Pc | 1692 | 86.43% |
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