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Patent areas of visa-sponsoring employers

Every technology area the sponsors we cover hold granted patents in, ranked by CPC subclass, the classification the USPTO itself files them under. Each code links to USPTO's definition of that subclass, so you can read what it actually covers.

Which technology areas do H-1B sponsors hold the most patents in?

Electric digital data processing, Transmission of digital information, and Information and communication technology are the technology areas visa-sponsoring employers concentrate their patents in, at 307,863; 139,876; and 62,693 granted patents. Ranked across 618 CPC subclasses held by 17,571 employers. Each count covers patents in an employer's five biggest areas, which is 62% of the 2,072,976 granted patents on record, so this ranks where patenting is concentrated rather than every patent held.

#Technology area (CPC subclass)In leading areas
1Electric digital data processingG06F · 3,572 employersIBM · Microsoft · Intel307,863
2Transmission of digital informationH04L · 2,292 employersIBM · Cisco · Microsoft139,876
3Information and communication technologyG06Q · 2,397 employersIBM · Microsoft · Google62,693
4Wireless communication networksH04W · 795 employersQualcomm · Samsung · Apple55,899
5Pictorial communicationH04N · 908 employersSamsung · Microsoft · Xerox43,297
6Diagnosis; surgery; identificationA61B · 1,180 employersEthicon · Siemens · DePuy Synthes Products32,281
7Generic packagesH10W · 160 employersIBM · Micron · Intel23,624
8Static storesG11C · 99 employersMicron · Samsung · Rambus22,641
9Preparations for medicalA61K · 1,276 employersProcter & Gamble · Colgate-Palmolive Company · Merck20,596
10Inorganic electric semiconductor devicesH10D · 89 employersIBM · Micron · Texas Instruments18,818
11Heterocyclic compoundsC07D · 422 employersMerck · Pfizer · Bristol Myers Squibb17,267
12Filters implantable into blood vessels; prosthesesA61F · 423 employersProcter & Gamble · Kimberly-Clark · Edwards Lifesciences15,973
13Image data processing or generationG06T · 868 employersMicrosoft · Adobe · Apple15,100
14Investigating or analysing materials by determiningG01N · 1,184 employersBoeing · Becton Dickinson · Agilent Technologies12,543
15TransmissionH04B · 408 employersQualcomm · Broadcom · Skyworks Solutions12,083
16Earth or rock drilling; obtaining oilE21B · 296 employersBaker Hughes Company · Halliburton · Ingersoll Rand Company11,466
17Generic processes or apparatus for the manufacture or treatmentH10P · 176 employersApplied Materials · Micron · Asml10,983
18Measuring electric variables; measuring magnetic variablesG01R · 372 employersSiemens · Texas Instruments · Tektronix10,269
19Devices for introducing mediaA61M · 472 employersBecton Dickinson · Medtronic · Cook Medical10,089
20Optical elementsG02B · 459 employersCorning · Meta · Magic Leap9,536
21Electrography; electrophotography; magnetographyG03G · 14 employersXerox · Static Control Components · Bell and Howell9,196
22PeptidesC07K · 524 employersGenentech · Amgen · Bristol Myers Squibb9,109
23Electric discharge tubes or discharge lampsH01J · 137 employersPhilips · Applied Materials · Westinghouse Electric Company8,501
24Containers for storage or transport of articles or materialsB65D · 581 employersProcter & Gamble · Owens-Illinois · Illinois Tool Works7,722
25Information storage based on relative movement between recordG11B · 176 employersWestern Digital · Philips · Headway Technologies7,653
26Pulse techniqueH03K · 135 employersTexas Instruments · Altera · Xilinx7,181
27Electric switches; relays; selectorsH01H · 165 employersWestinghouse Electric Company · Siemens · Eaton7,033
28Electrically-conductive connectionsH01R · 273 employersMolex · Thomas & Betts · Hubbell6,900
29Apparatus for physical trainingA63B · 208 employersAcushnet Company · Callaway Golf · Nike6,627
30Microorganisms or enzymes; compositions thereof; propagatingC12N · 560 employersAlnylam Pharmaceuticals · Codexis · Genentech6,484
31Telephonic communicationH04M · 386 employersAvaya · Verizon · Cisco6,322
32Non-positive displacement machines or enginesF01D · 44 employersUnited Technologies · Rolls-Royce · Siemens Energy6,003
33VehiclesB60R · 197 employersFord · Lear · Tk Holdings5,723
34Shaping or joining of plastics; shaping of materialB29C · 406 employersBoeing · Owens-Illinois · 3D Systems5,666
35Detergent compositions; use of single substances as detergentsC11D · 71 employersProcter & Gamble · Colgate-Palmolive Company · Clorox5,619
36SeparationB01D · 465 employersDonaldson Company · Pall · Cummins5,403
37Processes or meansH01M · 276 employersBloom Energy · The Gillette Company · Johnson Controls5,113
38Photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfacesG03F · 68 employersAsml · Synopsys · Cymer5,092
39Acyclic or carbocyclic compoundsC07C · 238 employersMonsanto Company · Merck · Celanese4,955
40Computing arrangements based on specific computational modelsG06N · 605 employersOracle · Capital One · SAP4,401
41Measuring or testing processes involving enzymesC12Q · 367 employersIllumina · Becton Dickinson · 10X Genomics4,341
42Motor vehicles; trailersB62D · 184 employersFord · Caterpillar · Porsche4,279
43Aeroplanes; helicoptersB64C · 95 employersBoeing · Curtiss-Wright · Goodrich4,079
44Controlling combustion enginesF02D · 47 employersFord · Caterpillar · Cummins4,053
45LoudspeakersH04R · 168 employersBose · Oticon · Sonos3,952
46ManufactureC03B · 31 employersCorning · Owens-Illinois · PPG Industries3,913
47Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different typeB60W · 110 employersFord · Waymo · Zoox3,788
48Electrotherapy; magnetotherapy; radiation therapyA61N · 247 employersZOLL Medical · Advanced Bionics · Greatbatch3,690
49Speech analysis techniques or speech synthesisG10L · 196 employersGoogle · Amazon · Sonos3,656
50Typewriters; selective printing mechanismsB41J · 68 employersXerox · NCR · Pitney Bowes3,652

We record each employer's five largest areas, so a count here is granted patents within those leading areas: 62% of the 2,072,976 we hold for 17,571 employers. An employer patenting thinly across many areas is under-represented, and a broad area that is rarely anyone's biggest does not appear at all.