Netflix needs no introduction. From a DVD-by-mail service, the company has grown to the world’s one of the largest subscription-based OTT services with a market cap of $213.39B in Sep 2020, and a net income of $1.86 bn in 2019.
One can see Netflix’s success from the increase in its revenue (19x in twelve years) and subscribers (2.5x in five years).
Below are 15 key statistics and insights into Netflix’s patent portfolio. You can also read our analysis, What is Inside Netflix’s Patents, to get high-level details on:
1. Different technology areas where Netlfix has filed patents
2. Some of the top problems solved by Netflix patents in different technology areas
How many patents does Netflix have?
Netflix’s patent portfolio has a total of 962 patents in its worldwide patent portfolio which belong to 223 unique patent families. Out of 962 patents, 521 are patent applications, and 441 are granted patents.
Also, 149 out of 962 patents are dead in the Netflix patent portfolio. These inactive patents include 146 applications and 3 granted patents. The rest of 813 alive patent documents consists of 375 applications and 438 granted patents.
How many Netflix Patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How many patent applications did Netflix 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.
What is the Count of Netflix Patents in Different Countries?
What Technologies are Covered by Netflix Patents?
Want to know what sort of patents are in Distributed Computing or Media Streaming? We have covered that here: What is Inside Netflix’s Patents?
R&D Focus: How Netflix’s Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
10 Best Netflix Patents
US6584450B1 is the most popular patent in the Netflix portfolio. It has received 206 citations so far from companies like Sony, Yahoo, and Apple. The patent also has been filed in major countries like United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Netflix:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US6584450B1 | 206 |
| US7403910B1 | 149 |
| US7024381B1 | 139 |
| US20160119291A1 | 105 |
| US8386621B2 | 92 |
| US8365235B2 | 74 |
| US9990499B2 | 68 |
| EP2663052A1 | 66 |
| US9338181B1 | 52 |
| US20120042047A1 | 43 |
Which Companies are using Netflix’s 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 Netflix patent portfolio are Media Streaming, Content Recommendation, and Distributed Computing. Google, IBM, and Microsoft as the top forward citing assignees.
| Company | Number of Patents |
| 53 | |
| IBM | 50 |
| Microsoft | 40 |
| Amazon | 35 |
| Samsung | 33 |
| Ericsson | 24 |
| Apple | 21 |
| At&T | 19 |
| Comcast Cable | 16 |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment | 14 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Netflix patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Netflix. They couldn’t because Netflix had them protected already.
Examiners at the USPTO used 120 Netflix patents in 1100 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 Netflix patents.
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Netflix Patents
Which Companies’ Patent Applications were Rejected the Most?
Top Netflix Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US8954596B2 | 70 |
| US8271338B2 | 62 |
| US8365235B2 | 55 |
| US8386621B2 | 47 |
| US9613104B2 | 46 |
| US8837601B2 | 37 |
| US7631323B1 | 35 |
| US9009337B2 | 31 |
| US9225621B2 | 30 |
| US8315977B2 | 26 |
| US7403910B1 | 24 |
| US9973800B2 | 24 |
| US9699519B2 | 21 |
| US20140006474A1 | 21 |
| US7617127B2 | 20 |
What Percentage of Netflix’s US Patent Applications were Granted?
Netflix has filed 345 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 253 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 98.06%.
Below are the key stats of Netflix’s patent prosecution at the USPTO. You can check the performance of FAANG at the USPTO here.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Netflix?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Artegis Law Group | 298 | 99.57% |
| Fisherbroyles | 41 | 91.67% |
| Hickman Becker Bingham Ledesma | 3 | 50.00% |
| Hickman Palermo Truong & Becker | 2 | 0.00% |
| Patterson Sheridan | 1 | 100.00% |
One more thing, We have converted this entire analysis in PDF form that you can download and save for later reading (or sharing with your friends). You can download it using the form below: