Nike has a total of 34019 patents globally, out of which 24223 have been granted. Of these 34019 patents, more than 83% patents are active. The United States of America is where Nike has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by China and Europe. Parallelly, The United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D center and also USA is the origin country of Nike.
Nike was founded in 1964 by Philip Hampson Knight and is doing business in sporting goods. As of March 2023, Nike has a market cap of $189.2 Billion.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Nike which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Nike’s patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Nike’s patent portfolio.
Do read about some interesting highlights of Nike Smart Shoes portfolio :
How many patents does Nike have?
Nike has a total of 34019 patents globally. These patents belong to 12826 unique patent families. Out of 34019 patents, 28420 patents are active.
How many Nike patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did Nike 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.
You can also read our analysis on, how Many Patent Applications did Nike abandon Every Year?
How Many Patents did Nike File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Nike Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States of America | 12981 |
| China | 4091 |
| Europe (EPO) | 3530 |
| Canada | 2317 |
| Japan | 1966 |
| United Kingdom | 1413 |
| Korea (South) | 1403 |
| Taiwan | 967 |
| Viet Nam | 665 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 532 |
| Germany | 519 |
| Brazil | 273 |
| Australia | 257 |
| Mexico | 245 |
| India | 99 |
| Austria | 88 |
| Argentina | 56 |
| South Africa | 31 |
| Spain | 26 |
| Chile | 13 |
| Israel | 9 |
| Singapore | 8 |
| Indonesia | 7 |
| New Zealand | 7 |
| Italy | 6 |
| Hungary | 4 |
| Poland | 4 |
| Russian Federation | 4 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Portugal | 3 |
| Malaysia | 1 |
| Slovakia | 1 |
| Philippines | 1 |
| Eurasian | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Nike Patents Located?
You can also read our analysis on Converse Patents – Key Insights and Stats
10 Best Nike Patents
US6018705A is the most popular patent in the Nike portfolio. It has received 782 citations so far from companies like Apple, Fitbit, Adidas, FitSense Technology, and Puma. The patent’s geographical coverage is in major countries like United States, China Europe, Japan, and Australia.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Nike:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US6018705A | 782 |
| US6882955B1 | 597 |
| US6898550B1 | 572 |
| US6013340A | 565 |
| US6876947B1 | 546 |
| US6052654A | 534 |
| US6585622B1 | 533 |
| US6082025A | 515 |
| US7254516B2 | 474 |
| US6127026A | 469 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Nike patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Nike invention. They couldn’t because Nike had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO referred 1456 Nike patents in 8700 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the Nike patent portfolio are Adidas, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Apple.
List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Nike –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Nike Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| Adidas | 179 | 810 |
| Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na | 102 | 303 |
| Apple | 74 | 198 |
| Samsung Electronics | 66 | 175 |
| Fitbit | 56 | 145 |
| Under Armour | 40 | 155 |
| Reebok | 40 | 182 |
| IBM | 39 | 81 |
| Microsoft | 36 | 85 |
| Sony Corporation | 35 | 96 |
| Puma Se | 33 | 164 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Nike Patents
Top Nike Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US7771320B2 | 60 |
| US7254516B2 | 54 |
| US8562489B2 | 50 |
| US8814754B2 | 47 |
| US9011292B2 | 44 |
| US9248340B2 | 40 |
| US8172722B2 | 39 |
| US9352207B2 | 32 |
| US9141087B2 | 32 |
| US9940682B2 | 31 |
| US8974349B2 | 30 |
| US8188868B2 | 28 |
| US8825445B2 | 27 |
| US9269102B2 | 26 |
| US8892999B2 | 25 |
What Percentage of Nike US Patent Applications were Granted?
Nike (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 5853 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 4474 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 90.7%.
Below are the key stats of Nike patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Nike?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Banner & Witcoff Ltd | 2289 | 91.97% |
| Shook Hardy & Bacon Llp | 1235 | 88.82% |
| Quinn Ip Law | 588 | 91.08% |
| Honigman Llp | 498 | 85.90% |
| Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner | 288 | 94.15% |
| Thomas Horstemeyer Llp | 227 | 95.50% |
| Plumsea Law Group Llc | 211 | 90.52% |
| Klarquist Sparkman Llp | 160 | 98.32% |
| Bookoff Mcandrews | 69 | 100.00% |
| Smart & Biggar Lp | 21 | 85.71% |
Nike transformed the athletic shoe industry with technological innovations, but today many people know the company by its flashy ads and sports celebrities.
Nike creates and adopts a wide range of technological innovations, the one thing that continually sets them apart and ensures they are always innovative is their product and approach. Technology has allowed Nike to personalize, on-demand service that gives each customer a unique experience.
Among the patents which were filed in 2021, the areas of technology that have been covered by Nike are mostly related to Footwear, Apparel, Manufacturing and Lacing & Attachment.
Patents filed in the Footwear category mainly consists of cleat structures, specific sole structures of shoes that can be used in shoes, which also provides structure, support and comfort with variable size adjustment options.
Patents related to Apparel points to breathable and lightweight apparel and also improving range of motion in an apparel thus improving the overall comfort level in an apparel.
Nike’s unique Manufacturing related patents denotes particular processes of using adhesive in the manufacturing of footwear and using image recognition technique for measuring real size of on-line object in real time.
Lacing & attachment patents indicates footwears with a strap to provide support and cable locking/fastening system which can be used to move between a relaxed and a restricted position.
Nike’s most cited patent US6018705A-Measuring foot contact time and foot loft time of a person in locomotion relates to the measurement of foot contact time, foot loft time, speed, and/or tempo of a person in movement, as well as the monitoring of a person’s orthopedic motion.
During our research we were surprised to note that Nike was not only filing patents related to Footwear and Apparel as these were the most sought after products of Nike, but also it is working on the plan to enter and create a virtual world. Patents related to these inferences were:
| Patent Number | Title |
| US10083393B2 | Interactive avatar for social network services |
| US10369474B2 | Virtual performance system |
| US10022631B2 | System and method for creating an avatar |
| US10726435B2 | Apparatus, system, and method for target search and using geocaching |
| US9384578B2 | Augmented reality design system |
| US10505726B1 | System and method for providing cryptographically secured digital assets |
These patents indicate that Nike is ready to enter the world of Metaverse as these patents relate to creating and interacting with virtual world around us, adding to the domain of augmented reality and mixed reality.
Adding to these insights, it was also interesting to note that Nike’s patents US20150183161A1, US9005710B2, and, US9004675B2 indicates the use of 3D printing technology in the manufacturing process of apparel and footwear.
What Technologies are Covered by Nike Patents?
The chart below distributes patents filed by Nike in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Nike thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How Nike Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
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: