Vodafone was founded in 1982 by Ernest Harrison and Gerry Whent and is doing business as a Telecommunications company. The Company offers wide range products of Mobile & Fixed Telecommunications, Internet and Technology. As of November 2021, Vodafone has a market cap of $43.02 Billion.
Vodafone has a total of 6978 patents globally, out of which 3579 have been granted. Of these 6978 patents, more than 34% patents are active. Europe is where Vodafone has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by USA and Germany and it also seems reasonable as the biggest market for Vodafone is Europe. Europe seems to be the main focused R&D center and UK is the origin country of Vodafone.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Vodafone which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Vodafone’s patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Vodafone’s patent portfolio.
How many patents does Vodafone have?
Vodafone has a total of 6978 patents globally. These patents belong to 2832 unique patent families. Out of 6978 patents, 2378 patents are active.
How many Vodafone patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
Patent Families
How Many Patents did Vodafone 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 | Vodafone Applications Filed | Vodafone Patents Granted |
| 2011 | 283 | 183 |
| 2012 | 213 | 288 |
| 2013 | 217 | 239 |
| 2014 | 317 | 272 |
| 2015 | 332 | 189 |
| 2016 | 273 | 155 |
| 2017 | 115 | 131 |
| 2018 | 53 | 125 |
| 2019 | 39 | 147 |
| 2020 | 28 | 138 |
| 2021 | 18 | 80 |
How Many Patents did Vodafone File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Vodafone Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| Europe | 1565 |
| United States Of America | 895 |
| Germany | 876 |
| United Kingdom | 758 |
| Spain | 531 |
| Turkey | 389 |
| Japan | 329 |
| Austria | 252 |
| China | 161 |
| Australia | 125 |
| Korea (South) | 81 |
| India | 74 |
| Canada | 50 |
| Italy | 50 |
| Mexico | 36 |
| Poland | 34 |
| Denmark | 31 |
| Portugal | 28 |
| Russian Federation | 24 |
| Brazil | 20 |
| Czech Republic | 18 |
| South Africa | 16 |
| Norway | 15 |
| Taiwan | 12 |
| Singapore | 11 |
| Finland | 8 |
| Hungary | 8 |
| France | 8 |
| Slovakia | 8 |
| Greece | 7 |
| Argentina | 7 |
| Ukraine | 7 |
| Sweden | 6 |
| New Zealand | 5 |
| African Regional Industrial Property Organization | 5 |
| Slovenia | 5 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 5 |
| Netherlands | 4 |
| Israel | 4 |
| Romania | 3 |
| Malaysia | 2 |
| Estonia | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Indonesia | 1 |
| Lithuania | 1 |
| Cyprus | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Vodafone Patents Located?
10 Best Vodafone Patents
US20130326583A1 is the most popular patent in the Vodafone portfolio. It has received 235 citations so far from companies like Amazon, Intel, Microsoft and Apple.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Vodafone:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US20130326583A1 | 235 |
| EP2400373A1 | 222 |
| US6141609A | 220 |
| US20160249233A1 | 155 |
| US20110057873A1 | 155 |
| US8639260B2 | 152 |
| GB2457221A | 148 |
| US8538428B2 | 144 |
| US20090217036A1 | 136 |
| US20080263139A1 | 134 |
Which Companies are using Vodafone 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 citing companies in the Vodafone patent portfolio are Ericsson, Samsung and Qualcomm.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Ericsson | 103 |
| Samsung | 88 |
| Qualcomm | 69 |
| Huawei | 56 |
| Nokia | 48 |
| Microsoft | 29 |
| Apple | 29 |
| IBM | 29 |
| Cisco | 26 |
| LG | 25 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Vodafone Patents
Top Vodafone Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US20130326583A1 | 29 |
| US9654357B2 | 22 |
| US20120202491A1 | 21 |
| US8639260B2 | 20 |
| US8064395B2 | 20 |
| US8706148B2 | 19 |
| US20090221307A1 | 18 |
| US20110263274A1 | 14 |
| US8543112B2 | 14 |
| US8868072B2 | 13 |
| US8705743B2 | 13 |
| US6230922B1 | 13 |
| US9154994B2 | 13 |
| US8971243B2 | 12 |
| US8620336B2 | 12 |
What Percentage of Vodafone US Patent Applications were Granted?
Vodafone (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 830 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 584 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 71.22%.
Below are the key stats of Vodafone patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Vodafone?
| Law Firm | Total Application | Success Rate |
| Workman Nydegger | 293 | 65.40% |
| Stites & Harbison | 82 | 55.56% |
| Thomas C Pontani | 71 | 98.53% |
| Muirhead And Saturnelli | 65 | 88.89% |
| International Ip Law Group | 58 | 55.17% |
| Kratz Quintos & Hanson | 41 | 85.37% |
| Kriegsman & Kriegsman | 27 | 55.56% |
| Mayback & Hoffman | 27 | 100.00% |
| Grossman Tucker Perreault & Pfleger | 16 | 80.00% |
| Mintz Levin Special Group | 12 | 66.67% |
“Our mission is to bring the future forward, by bringing the outside in.”
Vodafone continues to innovate, developing innovative technologies that empower people and make the world a better place. Vodafone has risen to become one of the main telecommunications companies today as a result of this.
There is no room for complacency in a quickly changing world. Vodafone is constantly on the lookout for new ideas, collaborations, and partnerships.
Vodafone’s innovation strategy is focused around:
ARVR: It may sound fantastic to blur the barriers between virtual and real life, but it’s not all science fiction. There are already some very genuine and practical uses, and Vodafone believes there is a lot more room for growth.
Security & Identity: Vodafone is committed to protecting its customers’ cyber security, privacy, and identity as a trusted provider. It envisions a linked world with a seamless user experience while maintaining the greatest standards of trustworthiness.
Artificial Intelligence: We live in a world where intelligent machines can better comprehend and support humans. Vodafone is enthusiastic in researching and developing this technology, as well as understanding what it could entail for both its business operations and its customers. It is already using chatbots for customer service and launching a slew of new initiatives.
Internet of Things: Humans were the only ones who could communicate with one another in the past. More and more of the objects in our environment are now able to speak with one another. In a connected world, the Internet of Things throws up a slew of new possibilities and ways to live, work, and play.
What are Vodafone‘s key innovation segments?
What Technologies are Covered by Vodafone Patents?
The chart below distributes patents filed by Vodafone in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Vodafone thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How Vodafone research focus changed over the years?
Interested in knowing about the areas of innovation that are being protected by Vodafone?