Western Digital has a total of 31347 patents globally, out of which 14731 have been granted. Of these 31347 patents, more than 53% patents are active. United States of America is where Western Digital has filed the maximum number of patents, followed by Europe and Japan. Parallelly, USA seems to be the main focused R&D center and is also the origin country of Western Digital.
Western Digital was founded in 1970 by Jacob Braun. Western Digital is a global provider of solutions for the collection, storage, management, protection and use of digital content, including audio and video. The Company’s products include hard drives, solid-state drives, and home entertainment and networking products. As of April 2022, Western Digital has a market cap of $16.58 Billion.
Read about some of the most popular patents of Western Digital which have been covered by us in this article and also you can find Western Digital patents information, the worldwide patent filing activity and its patent filing trend over the years, and many other stats over Western Digital patent portfolio.
How many patents does the Founder and CEO of Western Digital have?
The Founder Jacob Braun has 0 patents and the CEO David Goeckeler have 0 patents.
How many patents does Western Digital have?
Western Digital has a total of 31347 patents globally. These patents belong to 14731 unique patent families. Out of 31347 patents, 16725 patents are active.
How Many Patents did Western Digital 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 | Western Digital Applications Filed | Western Digital Patents Granted |
| 2011 | 1512 | 619 |
| 2012 | 1435 | 376 |
| 2013 | 1798 | 646 |
| 2014 | 1980 | 999 |
| 2015 | 1935 | 1087 |
| 2016 | 1455 | 771 |
| 2017 | 1258 | 434 |
| 2018 | 1224 | 1073 |
| 2019 | 1407 | 1134 |
| 2020 | 1383 | 919 |
| 2021 | 523 | 399 |
| 2022 | – | 184 |
How many Western Digital patents are Alive/Dead?
Worldwide Patents
How Many Patents did Western Digital File in Different Countries?
Countries in which Western Digital Filed Patents
| Country | Patents |
| United States Of America | 18027 |
| China | 3089 |
| Japan | 1945 |
| Germany | 1413 |
| Europe | 1185 |
| Korea (South) | 1080 |
| Taiwan | 953 |
| Singapore | 322 |
| Hong Kong (S.A.R.) | 294 |
| Malaysia | 209 |
| United Kingdom | 188 |
| Australia | 109 |
| India | 99 |
| Ireland | 61 |
| Canada | 48 |
| Austria | 23 |
| France | 22 |
| Thailand | 8 |
| Philippines | 8 |
| Hungary | 6 |
| Poland | 6 |
| Russia | 6 |
| Brazil | 4 |
| Israel | 4 |
| Spain | 2 |
| Viet Nam | 2 |
| Netherlands | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 2 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 |
Where are Research Centers of Western Digital Patents Located?
10 Best Western Digital Patents
US6456528B1 is the most popular patent in the Western Digital portfolio. It has received 1916 citations so far from companies like Anobit Technologies, Toshiba and Apple.
Below is the list of 10 most cited patents of Western Digital:
| Publication Number | Citation Count |
| US6456528B1 | 1916 |
| US6522580B2 | 1888 |
| US20060008256A1 | 1287 |
| US20050229069A1 | 1284 |
| US6420215B1 | 1252 |
| US6426893B1 | 906 |
| US7196928B2 | 831 |
| US6859397B2 | 803 |
| US6643188B2 | 706 |
| US20060140007A1 | 695 |
Which Companies are using Western Digital 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 Western Digital patent portfolio are Micron Technology, Samsung and Seagate Technology.
List of the top forward citing Companies –
| Company | Number of Patents |
| Micron Technology | 1471 |
| Samsung Electronics | 1102 |
| Seagate Technology | 720 |
| Sk Hynix | 702 |
| IBM | 672 |
| Toshiba Memory | 524 |
| Intel | 464 |
| Toshiba | 397 |
| Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na | 347 |
| Bank Of New York Mellon Trust Co Na | 228 |
Count of 102 and 103 Type Rejections based on Western Digital Patents
Top Western Digital Patents used in Rejecting Most Patent Applications
| Patent Number | Count of Rejected Applications |
| US20060008256A1 | 74 |
| US20100211872A1 | 47 |
| US20080301256A1 | 47 |
| US20130275656A1 | 37 |
| US20110055471A1 | 37 |
| US20110258391A1 | 33 |
| US20050251617A1 | 33 |
| US20130198459A1 | 31 |
| US20110066808A1 | 30 |
| US20040083335A1 | 29 |
| US20090172335A1 | 28 |
| US20070145135A1 | 27 |
| US7653778B2 | 26 |
| US20130227236A1 | 26 |
| US20130132638A1 | 26 |
What Percentage of Western Digital US Patent Applications were Granted?
Western Digital (Excluding its subsidiaries) has filed 10185 patent applications at USPTO so far (Excluding Design and PCT applications). Out of these 9396 have been granted leading to a grant rate of 96.6%.
Below are the key stats of Western Digital patent prosecution at the USPTO.
Which Law Firms Filed Most US Patents for Western Digital?
| Law Firm | Total Applications | Success Rate |
| Western Digital Technologies Inc | 3886 | 98.07% |
| Patterson Sheridan Llp | 652 | 90.42% |
| Morgan Lewis & Bockius Llp | 366 | 95.34% |
| Wagner Blecher Llp | 344 | 100.00% |
| Thomas R Berthold | 324 | 98.77% |
| Vierra Magen | 290 | 94.44% |
| Patterson & Sheridan Llp | 264 | 90.91% |
| Foley & Lardner Llp | 212 | 95.75% |
| John D Henkhaus | 211 | 91.67% |
| Crowell & Moring | 202 | 98.81% |
EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTS COMING SOON!
What are Western Digital’s key innovation segments?