Caterpillar has a total of 26331 patents globally, out of which 14251 have been granted. Of these 26331 patents, more than 60% patents are active. United States of America is where Caterpillar has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by China and Germany. Parallelly, USA seems to be the main focused R&D center and is also the origin country of Caterpillar.
Caterpillar was founded in 1925 by C. L. Best. Caterpillar designs, manufactures, and markets construction, mining, and forestry machinery. The Company also manufactures engines and other related parts for its equipment, and offers financing and insurance. Caterpillar distributes its products through a worldwide organization of dealers. As of March 2022 Caterpillar has a market cap of $119.34 Billion.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Caterpillar which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Caterpillar patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Caterpillar patent portfolio.
How many patents does the CEO of Caterpillar have?
The CEO, Jim Umpleby has 0 patents.
How many patents does Caterpillar have?
Caterpillar has a total of 26331 patents globally. These patents belong to 11779 unique patent families. Out of 26331 patents, 15931 patents are active.
How Many Patents did Caterpillar 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 | Caterpillar Applications Filed | Caterpillar Patents Granted |
| 2011 | 1918 | 873 |
| 2012 | 2690 | 995 |
| 2013 | 2210 | 1035 |
| 2014 | 2557 | 1158 |
| 2015 | 2983 | 1615 |
| 2016 | 2543 | 1683 |
| 2017 | 1569 | 1561 |
| 2018 | 1296 | 1179 |
| 2019 | 1962 | 1387 |
| 2020 | 1701 | 1216 |
| 2021 | 807 | 1303 |
| 2022 | 2 | 246 |
How many Caterpillar patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
Patent Families
How Many Patents did Caterpillar File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Caterpillar Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 8877 |
| China | 4185 |
| Germany | 2321 |
| Australia | 1490 |
| Europe | 1646 |
| Japan | 1167 |
| United Kingdom | 905 |
| Canada | 617 |
| India | 445 |
| Russia | 403 |
| Brazil | 275 |
| Korea (South) | 217 |
| South Africa | 204 |
| Chile | 193 |
| Mexico | 172 |
| Indonesia | 147 |
| Spain | 104 |
| Poland | 100 |
| Peru | 46 |
| Austria | 46 |
| Turkey | 33 |
| Ukraine | 29 |
| Taiwan | 19 |
| Denmark | 16 |
| Czech Republic | 14 |
| Belarus | 13 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 13 |
| Singapore | 11 |
| Eurasia | 7 |
| Italy | 7 |
| France | 6 |
| Sweden | 5 |
| Finland | 5 |
| Argentina | 4 |
| Malaysia | 4 |
| Bolivia | 4 |
| Mongolia | 4 |
| Kazakhstan | 3 |
| Hungary | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 |
| Israel | 2 |
| Norway | 2 |
| Colombia | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Africa | 1 |
| Vietnam | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Caterpillar Patents Located?
10 Best Caterpillar Patents
US8272516B2 is the most popular patent in the Caterpillar portfolio. It has received 230 citations so far from companies like Asm Ip Holding Bv and Em Ing Co Ltd.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Caterpillar:
| Publication Number | Count of Cited by Patents |
| US8272516B2 | 230 |
| US8473143B2 | 198 |
| US8480533B2 | 150 |
| USD847199S1 | 137 |
| USD707705S1 | 105 |
| USD707264S1 | 98 |
| USD706307S1 | 96 |
| USD728635S1 | 91 |
| USD706840S1 | 90 |
| USD727367S1 | 89 |
Which Companies are using Caterpillar 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 citing companies in the Qualcomm patent portfolio are Komastu, General Electric and Ford.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Assignee | Count |
| Komatsu | 223 |
| General Electric | 191 |
| Ford | 167 |
| John Deere | 167 |
| Gm Global Technology Operations | 126 |
| Robert Bosch | 79 |
| Toyota | 65 |
| GE Global Sourcing | 63 |
| Siemens | 51 |
| Cummins | 51 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Caterpillar Patents
Top Caterpillar Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US8157155B2 | 15 |
| US8818078B2 | 13 |
| US8151558B2 | 13 |
| US8099218B2 | 13 |
| US8351684B2 | 12 |
| US8128865B2 | 12 |
| US8987939B2 | 11 |
| US8359832B2 | 11 |
| US8191668B2 | 11 |
| US8019514B2 | 11 |
What Percentage of Caterpillar US Patent Applications were Granted?
Caterpillar (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 9965 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 6643 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 70.54%.
Below are the key stats of Caterpillar patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Caterpillar?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Caterpillar | 7446 | 66.78% |
| Finnegan Henderson | 924 | 46.94% |
| Von Briesen & Roper | 340 | 2.68% |
| Leydig Voit & Mayer | 197 | 0.00% |
| Brannon Sowers & Cracraft | 131 | 88.66% |
| Oblon Mcclelland | 96 | 64.04% |
| Michael B Mcneil | 30 | 73.33% |
| Husch Blackwell | 28 | 92.86% |
| Kevin M Kercher | 27 | 88.89% |
| J W Burrows | 25 | 92.00% |
EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!
What are Caterpillar‘s key innovation segments?