Kia was founded in 1944 by Kim Cheol-ho and is doing business as multinational Automobiles and Commercial vehicles. The Company offers a range of Automotive, Manufacturing and Transportation. As of October 2021, Kia has a market cap of $29.10 Billion.
Kia has a total of 41510 patents globally, out of which 16955 have been granted. Of these 41510 patents, more than 73% of patents are active. Korea is where Kia has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by USA and China and it also seems reasonable as the biggest market for Kia is South Korea. Parallelly, South Korea seems to be the main focused R&D center and is also the origin country of Kia.
Want to know which automotive companies are leading in innovation? Check out our list of the top automotive companies ranked by their patent count here
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Kia which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Kia’s patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Kia’s patent portfolio.
How many patents does Kia have?
Kia has a total of 41510 patents globally. These patents belong to 23043 unique patent families. Out of 41510 patents, 30627 patents are active.
How many Kia patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did Kia 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 | Kia Applications Filed | Kia Patents Granted |
| 2011 | 1811 | 581 |
| 2012 | 1670 | 636 |
| 2013 | 1403 | 1053 |
| 2014 | 1613 | 1018 |
| 2015 | 1689 | 993 |
| 2016 | 1633 | 1180 |
| 2017 | 5621 | 1105 |
| 2018 | 5605 | 1073 |
| 2019 | 6343 | 1623 |
| 2020 | 2333 | 1987 |
| 2021 | 14 | 1137 |
How Many Patents did Kia File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Kia Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| Korea (South) | 21067 |
| United States Of America | 8894 |
| China | 5743 |
| Germany | 3760 |
| Japan | 1104 |
| Europe | 536 |
| India | 153 |
| Chile | 38 |
| Brazil | 27 |
| Australia | 20 |
| Canada | 19 |
| Spain | 9 |
| Indonesia | 7 |
| Malaysia | 7 |
| France | 5 |
| Denmark | 4 |
| Russian Federation | 3 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| Italy | 3 |
| Turkey | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 2 |
| Ecuador | 2 |
| Taiwan | 2 |
| Thailand | 2 |
| Slovakia | 1 |
| Austria | 1 |
| Mexico | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Kia Patents Located?
10 Best Kia Patents
US20120132286A1 is the most popular patent in the Kia portfolio. It has received 416 citations so far from companies like Ethicon Llc, Cilag Gmbh and Milwaukee Tool.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Kia:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US20120132286A1 | 416 |
| US20030202096A1 | 188 |
| US20040088090A1 | 127 |
| US20120103714A1 | 123 |
| US20130020139A1 | 114 |
| US8152681B2 | 91 |
| US8328678B2 | 79 |
| US20120116609A1 | 72 |
| US20020033618A1 | 67 |
| US20050142047A1 | 55 |
Which Companies are using Kia 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 of the Kia patent portfolio are Ford Motor, Toyota and Gm Global Technology Operations Llc.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Ford | 152 |
| Toyota | 120 |
| Gm Global Technology Operations Llc | 77 |
| Honda Motor | 58 |
| Denso | 47 |
| Samsung | 29 |
| Robert Bosch | 21 |
| IBM | 20 |
| Nissan | 19 |
| Hanon Systems | 17 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Kia Patents
Top Kia Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US20120103714A1 | 21 |
| US8442820B2 | 13 |
| US8514276B2 | 10 |
| US8224561B2 | 10 |
| US8522537B2 | 9 |
| US8706204B2 | 9 |
| US8839503B2 | 8 |
| US9536660B2 | 7 |
| US8869757B2 | 7 |
| US8279280B2 | 7 |
| US20160071417A1 | 7 |
| US9432207B2 | 6 |
| US8371823B2 | 6 |
| US7294179B2 | 6 |
| US8202033B2 | 6 |
| US8868292B2 | 5 |
| US9188350B2 | 5 |
| US9610909B2 | 5 |
| US9180753B2 | 5 |
| US9156352B2 | 5 |
What Percentage of Kia US Patent Applications were Granted?
Kia (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 8017 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 4634 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 81.47%.
Below are the key stats of Kia patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Kia?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Morgan Lewis & Bockius | 3066 | 85.52% |
| Mintz Levin Special Group | 2516 | 76.28% |
| Crowell | 493 | 91.74% |
| Bgl | 468 | 88.89% |
| Slater Matsil | 379 | 93.08% |
| Mcdonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff | 299 | 92.86% |
| Lempia Summerfield Katz | 295 | 94.31% |
| Mcdermott Will & Emery | 237 | 74.68% |
| Hauptman Ham | 26 | 100.00% |
| Locke Lord | 22 | 63.64% |
“We at Kia Motors are dedicated to ensuring that driver enjoyment remains a top priority in the coming era of future mobility.”
Kia vehicles are regarded as smart and safe since they are equipped with cutting-edge technology such as parking assist, navigation, and head-up display, among other features.
Kia has concentrated on the widespread deployment of important eco-vehicle components and has relentlessly pushed R&D advancements to dominate the next-generation eco-vehicle market. The way you feel when driving is affected by noise and vibration. Kia goes above and above to make noise and vibrations pleasant to listen to.
What are Kia Motor‘s key innovation segments? What can you expect next??
What Technologies are Covered by Kia Patents?
The chart below distributes patents filed by Kia in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Kia thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How Kia Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
Interested in knowing about the areas of innovation that are being protected by Kia Motors?
