General Mills has a total of 3462 patents globally, out of which 1810 have been granted. Of these 3462 patents, more than 42% patents are active. United States of America is where General Mills has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Canada and Australia. Parallelly, United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D centre and also is the origin country of General Mills.
General Mills was founded in the year 1928 by Cadwallader C. Washburn, James Ford Bell, John Crosby and Lisa Pannell. Company operates as a food company. The Company manufactures and markets branded consumer foods and also they serves customers worldwide. As of December 2022, the market cap of General Mills is $ 51.70 Billion.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of General Mills which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find General Mills patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over General Mills patent portfolio.
How many patents does the founder and the CEO of General Mills have?
The founders, Cadwallader C. Washburn, James Ford Bell, John Crosby and Lisa Pannell have 0, 1, 34 and 0 patents respectively. The CEO, Jeff Harmening, has 0 patent.
How many patents does General Mills have?
General Mills has a total of 3462 patents globally. These patents belong to1030 unique patent families. Out of 3462 patents, 1473 patents are active.
How Many Patents did General Mills 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 | General Mills Applications Filed | General Mills Patents Granted |
| 2022 | 35 | 71 |
| 2021 | 56 | 104 |
| 2020 | 116 | 176 |
| 2019 | 169 | 145 |
| 2018 | 163 | 120 |
| 2017 | 155 | 99 |
| 2016 | 178 | 101 |
| 2015 | 128 | 89 |
| 2014 | 274 | 64 |
| 2013 | 160 | 40 |
| 2012 | 111 | 52 |
| 2011 | 88 | 55 |
How many General Mills patents are Alive/Dead?
How Many Patents did General Mills File in Different Countries?
Countries in which General Mills Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 895 |
| Canada | 410 |
| Australia | 320 |
| Europe | 307 |
| China | 140 |
| Mexico | 138 |
| Germany | 115 |
| Brazil | 91 |
| Argentina | 85 |
| Japan | 65 |
| Spain | 52 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 52 |
| India | 43 |
| Austria | 41 |
| United Kingdom | 40 |
| Malaysia | 30 |
| New Zealand | 26 |
| Indonesia | 24 |
| Poland | 18 |
| South Africa | 18 |
| Denmark | 18 |
| Philippines | 18 |
| Norway | 17 |
| Portugal | 15 |
| Chile | 14 |
| Colombia | 13 |
| Taiwan | 12 |
| Russia | 11 |
| Israel | 10 |
| Singapore | 9 |
| Korea (South) | 7 |
| Turkey | 6 |
| France | 5 |
| Italy | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia | 4 |
| Switzerland | 4 |
| Viet Nam | 1 |
| Brunei | 1 |
| Peru | 1 |
Where are Research Centres of General Mills Patents Located?
10 Best General Mills Patents
US20020004749A1 is the most popular patent in the General Mills portfolio. It has received 300 citations so far from companies like Tele-Tracking Technologies, National Health Essentials and Cargill.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of General Mills:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US20020004749A1 | 300 |
| US6723358B1 | 193 |
| US6500463B1 | 179 |
| US20030066076A1 | 165 |
| US20090311378A1 | 119 |
| US20030083925A1 | 114 |
| US6592915B1 | 106 |
| US7201923B1 | 102 |
| US6468568B1 | 98 |
| US6371324B1 | 93 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to General Mills patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to General Mills invention. They couldn’t because General Mills had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO used 261 General Mills patents in 1470 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the General Mills patent portfolio are Nestec, Intercontinental Great Brands and Frito-Lay.
List of the Companies who’s Patents were rejected citing General Mills –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing General Mills Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| Nestec | 21 | 72 |
| Intercontinental Great Brands | 19 | 50 |
| Frito-Lay | 15 | 46 |
| Elwha | 15 | 40 |
| Mars Incorporated | 13 | 46 |
| Kellogg | 9 | 30 |
| Nestle | 8 | 17 |
| Nutrition Act | 7 | 22 |
| Cargill | 7 | 19 |
| Compagnie Gervais Danone | 7 | 19 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on General Mills Patents
Top General Mills Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US20020004749A1 | 33 |
| US7235276B2 | 20 |
| US8249946B2 | 15 |
| US7033634B2 | 7 |
| US8828432B2 | 7 |
| US6500463B1 | 7 |
| US20030141218A1 | 7 |
| US20030083925A1 | 6 |
| US7803413B2 | 6 |
| US7237671B2 | 6 |
| US20040148217A1 | 6 |
| US8146799B2 | 6 |
| US8367143B2 | 6 |
| US6572911B1 | 6 |
| US8697159B2 | 6 |
What Percentage of General Mills US Patent Applications were Granted?
General Mills (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 297 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 168 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 57.53%.
Below are the key stats of General Mills patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for General Mills?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Diederiks & Whitelaw | 162 | 45.22% |
| Kagan Binder | 33 | 60.61% |
| General Mills | 32 | 84.38% |
| John A O Toole | 10 | 100.00% |
| Arlene L Hornilla Attorney | 9 | 66.67% |
| Arlene Hornilla | 6 | 50.00% |
| Janal M Kalis | 6 | 100.00% |
| Arlene L Hornilla | 5 | 60.00% |
| Dicke Billig & Czaja | 3 | 100.00% |
| Douglas J Taylor | 3 | 66.67% |