Nike has a total of 25762 patents globally out of which 18340 have been granted and more than 79% of these worldwide patents are active. US is where Nike has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by China and Europe and it also seems reasonable as the biggest market for the Nike Group is the United States in which it generated an annual revenue of $17.3 billion in the year 2020. Parallelly, US seems to be the main focused R&D center and is also the origin country of Nike.
Nike was founded in 1964 by Philip Hampson Knight and is doing business in sporting goods. As of December 2021, Nike has a market cap of $271.12 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.
How many patents does Nike have?
Nike has a total of 25762 patents globally. These patents belong to 9897 unique patent families. Out of 25762 patents, 28755 patents are active.
How many Nike patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
Patent Families
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.
| Year of Patents Filing or Grant | Nike Patent Applications Filed | Nike Patents Granted |
| 2021 | 117 | 1280 |
| 2020 | 1003 | 2212 |
| 2019 | 2065 | 1840 |
| 2018 | 1967 | 1956 |
| 2017 | 2255 | 2150 |
| 2016 | 2526 | 1372 |
| 2015 | 2304 | 1081 |
| 2014 | 2199 | 1198 |
| 2013 | 1953 | 896 |
| 2012 | 1660 | 634 |
| 2011 | 1232 | 458 |
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 | 10688 |
| China | 2677 |
| Europe | 2633 |
| Canada | 2258 |
| Japan | 1574 |
| Korea (South) | 925 |
| Taiwan | 741 |
| Viet Nam | 442 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 311 |
| Brazil | 250 |
| Australia | 241 |
| Mexico | 190 |
| Germany | 161 |
| Austria | 88 |
| India | 84 |
| Argentina | 56 |
| South Africa | 31 |
| Spain | 25 |
| United Kingdom | 19 |
| Chile | 13 |
| New Zealand | 7 |
| Indonesia | 6 |
| Italy | 5 |
| Russian Federation | 4 |
| Hungary | 4 |
| Poland | 4 |
| Portugal | 3 |
| Singapore | 3 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Israel | 3 |
| Philippines | 3 |
| Malaysia | 1 |
| Eurasian Patent Organization | 1 |
| Slovakia | 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:
| Nike’s most important Patents | Citation Count |
| US6018705A | 782 |
| US6882955B1 | 597 |
| US6898550B1 | 572 |
| US6013340A | 565 |
| US6876947B1 | 546 |
| US6052654A | 534 |
| US6585622B1 | 533 |
| US6082025A | 515 |
| US7254516B2 | 474 |
| US6127026A | 469 |
Which Companies are using Nike 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 companies in the Nike patent portfolio are Adidas, Apple, and Samsung.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Adidas | 156 |
| Apple | 70 |
| Samsung | 62 |
| Fitbit | 52 |
| Sony | 40 |
| IBM | 36 |
| Reebok | 35 |
| Under Armour | 34 |
| Puma | 28 |
| Epson | 28 |
| Mizuno | 25 |
| Asics | 24 |
| Acushnet Company | 23 |
| Sumitomo Rubber Industries | 23 |
| Intel | 23 |
| New Balance | 18 |
| Casio | 16 |
| Wilson Sporting Goods Co | 14 |
| Polar Electro | 14 |
| Hello Llc | 13 |
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 |
| US7254516B2 | 60 |
| US7771320B2 | 56 |
| US8562489B2 | 52 |
| US9248340B2 | 46 |
| US8814754B2 | 46 |
| US9011292B2 | 44 |
| US8172722B2 | 40 |
| US9141087B2 | 33 |
| US9352207B2 | 31 |
| US8974349B2 | 31 |
| US8188868B2 | 30 |
| US9940682B2 | 29 |
| US8825445B2 | 28 |
| US9782660B2 | 26 |
| US9269102B2 | 25 |
| US9532734B2 | 25 |
| US8892999B2 | 24 |
| US8231506B2 | 22 |
| US9358426B2 | 20 |
| US9329053B2 | 17 |
What Percentage of Nike US Patent Applications were Granted?
Nike (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 4814 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 3630 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 89.7%.
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 | 1916 | 91.04% |
| Shook Hardy & Bacon Llp | 1006 | 88.21% |
| Quinn Ip | 464 | 89.89% |
| Honigman Llp | 406 | 84.75% |
| Plumsea Law Group Llc | 223 | 91.48% |
| Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner | 206 | 95.73% |
| Klarquist Sparkman Llp | 129 | 95.79% |
| Thomas Horstemeyer Llp | 123 | 95.83% |
| Nike Inc | 24 | 77.77% |
| Smart & Biggar Llp | 22 | 86.36% |
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?
Authored By: Navjyot Singh, Insights;Gate Team