Smith & Nephew has a total of 14379 patents globally, out of which 7251 have been granted. Of these 14379 patents, more than 44% patents are active. United States of America is where Smith & Nephew has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Europe and Japan. Parallelly, United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D centre and also United Kingdom is the origin country of Smith & Nephew.
Smith & Nephew was founded in the year 1856. Smith & Nephew plc develops and markets advanced medical devices. The Group is involved in orthopaedics, endoscopy, and advanced wound management. As of April 2023, the market cap of Smith & Nephew is $12.96 Billion.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Smith & Nephew which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Smith & Nephew patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Smith & Nephew patent portfolio.
How many patents does the founder and the CEO of Smith & Nephew have?
The founder Thomas James Smith has 0 patent and CEO Deepak Nath has 0 patent.
How many patents does Smith & Nephew have?
Smith & Nephew has a total of 14379 patents globally. These patents belong to 3036 unique patent families. Out of 14379 patents, 6426 patents are active.
How Many Patents did Smith & Nephew 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 | Smith & Nephew Applications Filed | Smith & Nephew Patents Granted |
| 2023 | 10 | 97 |
| 2022 | 182 | 389 |
| 2021 | 450 | 464 |
| 2020 | 539 | 508 |
| 2019 | 511 | 514 |
| 2018 | 738 | 562 |
| 2017 | 618 | 620 |
| 2016 | 582 | 716 |
| 2015 | 812 | 578 |
| 2014 | 945 | 472 |
| 2013 | 874 | 326 |
| 2012 | 865 | 284 |
| 2011 | 1026 | 318 |
How many Smith & Nephew patents are Alive/Dead?
How Many Patents did Smith & Nephew File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Smith & Nephew Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 3552 |
| Europe | 1645 |
| Japan | 1261 |
| Australia | 1240 |
| Germany | 866 |
| China | 851 |
| Canada | 649 |
| United Kingdom | 643 |
| India | 308 |
| Brazil | 256 |
| South Africa | 236 |
| Russia | 219 |
| Korea (South) | 211 |
| Spain | 205 |
| Austria | 204 |
| Mexico | 171 |
| Denmark | 72 |
| Singapore | 37 |
| Portugal | 34 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 31 |
| Norway | 24 |
| Israel | 24 |
| Taiwan | 12 |
| Argentina | 11 |
| Hungary | 11 |
| Italy | 11 |
| Malaysia | 5 |
| France | 4 |
| Chile | 4 |
| New Zealand | 4 |
| Turkey | 3 |
| Indonesia | 2 |
| Colombia | 2 |
| Cyprus | 2 |
| Poland | 2 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 1 |
| Philippines | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Macao | 1 |
| Slovenia | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Africa | 1 |
Where are Research Centres of Smith & Nephew Patents Located?
10 Best Smith & Nephew Patents
US20040034357A1 is the most popular patent in the Smith & Nephew portfolio. It has received 1411 citations so far from companies like Ethicon, Pneumrx and P Tech.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Smith & Nephew:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US20040034357A1 | 1411 |
| US6689153B1 | 1380 |
| US9226750B2 | 1034 |
| US20020019649A1 | 1006 |
| US20040030330A1 | 975 |
| US8715256B2 | 927 |
| US8764732B2 | 910 |
| US6660008B1 | 863 |
| US8808274B2 | 819 |
| US9050123B2 | 765 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to Smith & Nephew patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Smith & Nephew invention. They couldn’t because Smith & Nephew had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO referred 1219 Smith & Nephew patents in 9974 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the Smith & Nephew patent portfolio are KCI, Covidien and Arthrex.
List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Smith & Nephew –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Smith & Nephew Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| KCI | 345 | 998 |
| Covidien | 82 | 183 |
| Arthrex | 79 | 195 |
| Biomet Manufacturing | 72 | 174 |
| Zimmer | 68 | 184 |
| Arthrocare | 61 | 222 |
| Boston Scientific | 44 | 82 |
| Biomet Sports Medicine | 42 | 81 |
| Howmedica Osteonics | 41 | 85 |
| Stryker Corporation | 36 | 74 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Smith & Nephew Patents
Top Smith & Nephew Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US10729357B2 | 46 |
| US7887551B2 | 35 |
| US7518502B2 | 33 |
| US7569742B2 | 30 |
| US7779625B2 | 25 |
| US7949386B2 | 24 |
| US6517578B2 | 21 |
| US6855143B2 | 21 |
| US11133096B2 | 20 |
| US7651509B2 | 19 |
| US6551330B1 | 18 |
| US6949096B2 | 18 |
| US6946003B1 | 18 |
| US6602248B1 | 18 |
| US8192424B2 | 17 |
What Percentage of Smith & Nephew US Patent Applications were Granted?
Smith & Nephew (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 2686 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 1898 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 83.06%.
Below are the key stats of Smith & Nephew patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Smith & Nephew?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear | 453 | 87.19% |
| Smith & Nephew | 332 | 77.70% |
| Sabrina Chambers | 309 | 78.14% |
| Dickinson Wright Smith & Nephew | 69 | 89.29% |
| Covidien | 50 | 95.00% |
| Fish & Richardson | 49 | 88.37% |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 44 | 87.18% |
| Shumaker Loop & Kendrick | 37 | 91.89% |
| Stites & Harbison | 36 | 44.44% |
| Tucker Ellis | 34 | 79.41% |