Nike Patents – Insights & Stats (Updated 2023)

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

Nike Patent Portfolio

How Many Patents did Nike File Every Year?

Nike Patent Filing Trend

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?

Nike Patent Portfolio

Countries in which Nike Filed Patents

CountryPatents
United States of America12981
China4091
Europe (EPO)3530
Canada2317
Japan1966
United Kingdom1413
Korea (South)1403
Taiwan967
Viet Nam665
Hong Kong (S.A.R.)532
Germany519
Brazil273
Australia257
Mexico245
India99
Austria88
Argentina56
South Africa31
Spain26
Chile13
Israel9
Singapore8
Indonesia7
New Zealand7
Italy6
Hungary4
Poland4
Russian Federation4
Denmark3
Portugal3
Malaysia1
Slovakia1
Philippines1
Eurasian1
Czech Republic1

Where are Research Centers of Nike Patents Located?

R&D Centers of Nike

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 NumberCitation Count
US6018705A782
US6882955B1597
US6898550B1572
US6013340A565
US6876947B1546
US6052654A534
US6585622B1533
US6082025A515
US7254516B2474
US6127026A469

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 –

CompanyNumber of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Nike PatentsNumber of Rejections (102 & 103)
Adidas179810
Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na102303
Apple74198
Samsung Electronics66175
Fitbit56145
Under Armour40155
Reebok40182
IBM3981
Microsoft3685
Sony Corporation3596
Puma Se33164

Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Nike Patents

Top Nike Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications

Patent NumberCount of Rejected Applications
US7771320B260
US7254516B254
US8562489B250
US8814754B247
US9011292B244
US9248340B240
US8172722B239
US9352207B232
US9141087B232
US9940682B231
US8974349B230
US8188868B228
US8825445B227
US9269102B226
US8892999B225

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 FirmTotal ApplicationsSuccess Rate
Banner & Witcoff Ltd228991.97%
Shook Hardy & Bacon Llp123588.82%
Quinn Ip Law58891.08%
Honigman Llp49885.90%
Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner28894.15%
Thomas Horstemeyer Llp22795.50%
Plumsea Law Group Llc21190.52%
Klarquist Sparkman Llp16098.32%
Bookoff Mcandrews69100.00%
Smart & Biggar Lp2185.71%

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 NumberTitle
US10083393B2Interactive avatar for social network services
US10369474B2Virtual performance system
US10022631B2System and method for creating an avatar
US10726435B2Apparatus, system, and method for target search and using geocaching
US9384578B2Augmented reality design system
US10505726B1System 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?

Nike Patent Portfolio Technology Area

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 FocusHow 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:

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Our comprehensive report provides an in-depth look into the patent portfolio. The report includes a breakdown of the patent portfolio across various technologies, listing the patent along with brief summaries of each patent's technology.