Walmart has a total of 7746 patents globally, out of which 2686 have been granted. Of these 7746 patents, more than 93% patents are active. United States of America is where Walmart has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Canada and United Kingdom. Parallelly, United States of America seems to be the main focused R&D centre and also is the origin country of Walmart.
Walmart was founded in 1962 doing business in Retail. The Company offers a range of Retail, Technology, Transportation, Logistics, Merchandising, Marketing, Operations, Health & Wellness, ecommerce, and Management.
Do read about some of the most popular patents of Walmart which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Walmart patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Walmart patent portfolio.
How many patents does Walmart have?
Walmart has a total of 7746 patents globally. These patents belong to 3680 unique patent families. Out of 7746 patents, 3744 patents are active.
How Many Patents did Walmart 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 | Walmart Applications Filed | Walmart Patents Granted |
| 2024 | 16 | 133 |
| 2023 | 239 | 330 |
| 2022 | 306 | 286 |
| 2021 | 450 | 328 |
| 2020 | 396 | 431 |
| 2019 | 1201 | 488 |
| 2018 | 1383 | 248 |
| 2017 | 1676 | 114 |
| 2016 | 794 | 82 |
| 2015 | 237 | 81 |
| 2014 | 273 | 54 |
How many Walmart patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did Walmart File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Walmart Filed Patents
| Country | Patent |
| United States of America | 4368 |
| Canada | 749 |
| United Kingdom | 519 |
| Mexico | 490 |
| India | 150 |
| China | 102 |
| Japan | 69 |
| Brazil | 37 |
| Europe (EPO) | 33 |
| Russia | 12 |
| Australia | 7 |
| Viet Nam | 5 |
| South Africa | 3 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Poland | 1 |
| Korea (South) | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Walmart Patents Located?
Walmart’s DEI Journey and the Role of Female Inventors
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have long been pillars of Walmart’s commitment to fostering a workplace that reflects the values of fairness and opportunity. While recent discussions have sparked debate about the evolution of these initiatives, it’s essential to spotlight the lasting contributions that diverse talent brings to the table—especially women inventors, who play a crucial role in driving innovation at Walmart.
Female Inventor Patent Filing Ratios from 2013 to 2024: Trends and Insights
Note: The analysis of patenting by gender is based on the information available at USPTO. The gender of inventors is determined using the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Gender-Name Standards Dictionary (WGND) 2.0. Fractional counting of inventors is used, with the credit for each patent divided equally between the inventors.
Click here to read more on how women inventors are shaping up Innovation at Walmart
What Technologies are Covered by Walmart Patents?
The chart below distributes patents filed by Walmart in different countries on the basis of the technology protected in patents. It also represents the markets where Walmart thinks it’s important to protect particular technology inventions.
R&D Focus: How Walmart Research Focus Changed Over the Years?
10 Best Walmart Patents
US8595234B2 is the most popular patent in the Walmart portfolio. It has received 167 citations so far from companies like Palantir Technologies, Microsoft, IBM.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Walmart:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US8595234B2 | 167 |
| US20120059708A1 | 145 |
| US20120059713A1 | 134 |
| US6731927B1 | 104 |
| US20160255969A1 | 93 |
| US7340048B2 | 92 |
| US20170148324A1 | 90 |
| US8122016B1 | 86 |
Which Companies are using Walmart Patents to Advance their Research?
The statistics below share strategic R&D insights. It tells the companies that were trying to protect inventions similar to Walmart invention. They couldn’t because Walmart had protected those before them.
Examiners at the USPTO used 1043 Walmart patents in 4579 rejections (35 USC § 102 or 35 USC § 103 types).
The top citing companies in the Walmart patent portfolio are IBM, Toshiba and Microsoft.
List of the Companies whose Patents were rejected citing Walmart –
| Company | Number of Patent Applications that faced Rejection Citing Walmart Patents | Number of Rejections (102 & 103) |
| IBM | 189 | 440 |
| Toshiba | 97 | 175 |
| Microsoft | 68 | 131 |
| Amazon | 49 | 75 |
| Mastercard | 38 | 81 |
| Toyota | 36 | 84 |
| 35 | 73 | |
| Paypal | 33 | 67 |
| Ebay | 28 | 64 |
| Samsung | 27 | 45 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Walmart Patents
Top Walmart Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US8595234B2 | 38 |
| US10121133B2 | 23 |
| US20120059713A1 | 19 |
| US8315849B1 | 14 |
| US9761139B2 | 13 |
| US8626491B2 | 13 |
| US20060177065A1 | 13 |
| US20110087647A1 | 13 |
| US8122360B2 | 12 |
| US9015069B2 | 12 |
| US20140136255A1 | 12 |
| US20180167394A1 | 11 |
| US10083467B2 | 11 |
| US10435241B2 | 11 |
| US8122016B1 | 10 |
What Percentage of Walmart US Patent Applications were Granted?
Walmart (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 3158 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 1640 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 61.31%.
Below are the key stats of Walmart’s patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Walmart?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery Llp | 1529 | 56.98% |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Llp | 799 | 69.93% |
| Duane Morris Llp | 260 | 81.56% |
| Schmeiser Olsen & Watts Llp | 216 | 44.91% |
| Barta Jones & Foley Pc | 204 | 63.69% |
| Patterson Thuente Pedersen Pa | 100 | 52.27% |
| Vierra Magen Marcus Llp | 30 | 96.00% |
| Venable Llp | 7 | 71.43% |
| Baker Botts Llp | 2 | 50.00% |
| Bakerhostetler | 2 | 0.00% |
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