VMware has a total of 10602 patents globally, out of which 7507 have been granted. Of these 10602 patents, more than 91% patents are active. The United States of America is where VMware has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by India and Europe (EPO). Parallelly, United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D center and also is the origin country of VMware.
VMware is subpart of Broadcom was founded in the year 1998. VMware operates as a cloud computing and virtualization technology company. The Company offers SaaS solutions that addresses a range of IT problems which includes cost and operational inefficiencies, business continuity, software lifecycle management, and desktop management. VMware serves customers worldwide.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of VMware which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find VMware patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over VMware patent portfolio.
How many patents does VMware have?
VMware has a total of 10602 patents globally. These patents belong to 5828 unique patent families. Out of 10602 patents, 9748 patents are active.
How Many Patents did VMware 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 | VMware Applications Filed | VMware Patent Granted |
| 2023 | 201 | 914 |
| 2022 | 629 | 860 |
| 2021 | 1098 | 1036 |
| 2020 | 1043 | 951 |
| 2019 | 1066 | 856 |
| 2018 | 918 | 663 |
| 2017 | 981 | 577 |
| 2016 | 879 | 538 |
| 2015 | 844 | 376 |
| 2014 | 927 | 249 |
| 2013 | 656 | 143 |
| 2012 | 384 | 139 |
How many VMware patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did VMware File in Different Countries?
Countries in which VMware Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 8248 |
| India | 731 |
| Europe (EPO) | 420 |
| China | 278 |
| Australia | 189 |
| Japan | 160 |
| Canada | 53 |
| Korea (South) | 27 |
| United Kingdom | 6 |
| Israel | 6 |
| Taiwan | 5 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| France | 2 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Mexico | 2 |
| Russia | 2 |
| Austria | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of VMware Patents Located?
What Technologies are covered by VMware Patents?
Renowned for their contributions in the world of virtualization and cloud computing technology, VMware has a robust and innovative patent portfolio reflecting its commitment to advancing the landscape of computing. VMware’s patents span a wide spectrum of domains, including virtualization technologies, network management, storage optimization, security enhancements, and distributed computing solutions.
Surprisingly, VMware has initiatives under AR/VR (Augmented/ Virtual Reality) and 3D Printing.
For example, US11443490B2 this patent talks about an augmented reality experience.
“US20220011989A1” this patent under 3D Printing talks about a system that ensures 3D printers are making objects correctly by adding secret instructions to the object’s design. These instructions make the printer produce specific sounds while printing. A recording device captures these sounds, sending them to a computer system. This system checks if the recorded sounds match the secret instructions, verifying if the printer is working accurately without visually inspecting the printed object.
VMware has also been making strides in the IoT domain and is filing patents for the same since 2018. US11799732B2 Here IoT is utilized to manage and discover devices within an enterprise environment.
They have filed the maximum patents related to Virtualisation Technology which include patents related to Hypervisor Technology, Storage Virtualisation & Network Virtualisation among many.
This is followed by patents filed under Networking & Communication which include patents related TCP/IP Communications, Packet Generation & Injection etc.
Security & Privacy include patents like Detecting and preventing crypto-ransomware attacks against data, Multi-Factor Authentication among others.
The chart below distributes patents filed by VMware in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where VMware thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How VMware’s Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
10 Best VMware Patents
US7356679B1 is the most popular patent in the VMware portfolio. It has received 1380 citations so far from companies like IBM, Microsoft and Apple.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of VMware:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US7356679B1 | 1380 |
| US7577722B1 | 815 |
| US6496847B1 | 768 |
| USD783658S1 | 756 |
| US6397242B1 | 707 |
| US6795966B1 | 621 |
| US7478173B1 | 517 |
| US7606868B1 | 423 |
| US6789156B1 | 401 |
| US7484208B1 | 398 |
How many inventions of other companies were rejected due to VMware patents?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to VMware invention. They couldn’t because VMware had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO referred 3030 VMware patents in 19112 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the VMware patent portfolio are IBM, Microsoft and Emc Ip Holding Company Llc.
List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing VMware –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing VMware Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| IBM | 953 | 2049 |
| Microsoft | 490 | 1230 |
| Emc Ip Holding Company Llc | 306 | 623 |
| Amazon | 301 | 672 |
| Intel Corporation | 266 | 592 |
| Cisco Technology Inc | 266 | 556 |
| Hewlett-Packard | 258 | 542 |
| Red Hat Inc | 349 | 1095 |
| Oracle | 160 | 312 |
| Fujitsu Limited | 151 | 305 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on VMware Patents
Top VMware Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US7577722B1 | 80 |
| US7356679B1 | 68 |
| US8255484B2 | 46 |
| US9047133B2 | 40 |
| US9052961B2 | 37 |
| US8627426B2 | 37 |
| US8209680B1 | 33 |
| US9465457B2 | 30 |
| US9083609B2 | 30 |
| US9274821B2 | 27 |
| US9170798B2 | 27 |
| US8117410B2 | 27 |
| US8171485B2 | 27 |
| US8924524B2 | 26 |
| US8554981B2 | 26 |
What Percentage of VMware US Patent Applications were Granted?
VMware (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 4622 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 3199 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 96.2%.
Below are the key stats of VMware patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for VMware?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Vmware Inc | 1134 | 96.56% |
| Patterson Sheridan Llp | 475 | 97.62% |
| Adeli Llp | 402 | 99.60% |
| Thomas Horstemeyer Llp | 376 | 93.60% |
| Clayton Mckay & Bailey | 233 | 99.45% |
| Dinsmore & Shohl Llp | 200 | 100.00% |
| Olympic Patent Works Pllc | 181 | 86.57% |
| Kim & Stewart Llp | 169 | 96.30% |
| Barta Jones & Foley Pllc | 165 | 99.21% |
| Hanley Flight & Zimmerman Llc | 158 | 96.60% |
Want the entire analysis in PDF form? Download it by filling the form here: