IP-related statistics from the recent past
A selection of key IP facts and figures, as reported by IAM and other sources
Figures 1 and 2 come from a study of mobile phone patent licence royalties published by the Hoover Institution in September 2016. The complete study is available at www.hooverip2.org.
Figure 1. Patent royalties as a percentage of value of mobile phones (smart and feature) shipped, 2007-2015

Source: A new dataset on mobile phone patent license royalties, Alexander Galetovic, Stephen H Haber and Lew Zaretzki, www.hooverip2.org
Figure 2. Mobile phone economics, 2015

Source: A new dataset on mobile phone patent license royalties, Alexander Galetovic, Stephen H Haber and Lew Zaretzki, www.hooverip2.org
Table 1. Stock performance of selected publicly traded IP-centric companies, September-November 2016

Source: Google Finance
Tables 2A and 2B show the entities with the highest volume of in-bound patent assignment transactions (assignee table) and out-bound patent assignment transactions (assignor table), as recorded at the US Patent and Trademark Office. These results are calculated by aggregating the number of transactions completed by an assignee/assignor in September and October 2016.
One transaction may include multiple patents, patent families and patent portfolios. Many companies create numerous holding vehicles to house their different IP portfolios; this is why similar company names may appear multiple times in the tables.
Table 2a. Top 30 patent assignees by number of transactions, September-October 2016
# |
Assignee entity |
Number of assignments transacted |
1 |
National Institutes Of Health (NIH), U.S. Dept. Of Health And Human Services (DHHS), U.S. Government |
141 |
2 |
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. |
111 |
3 |
National Science Foundation |
85 |
4 |
National Institutes Of Health-Director DEITR |
73 |
5 |
Nuvasive Specialized Orthopedics, Inc. |
57 |
6 |
ViiV Healthcare UK (No. 5) Limited |
54 |
7 |
The Regents Of The University Of California |
50 |
8 |
Dow Global Technologies LLC |
50 |
9 |
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha |
48 |
10 |
Dell Products L.P. |
48 |
11 |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
45 |
12 |
LG Electronics Inc. |
45 |
13 |
Nokia Technologies OY |
41 |
14 |
Microsoft Corporation |
41 |
15 |
International Business Machines Corporation |
39 |
16 |
ZTE Corporation |
34 |
17 |
Acushnet Company |
34 |
18 |
Thomson Licensing |
33 |
19 |
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft |
32 |
20 |
Robert Bosch GmbH |
32 |
21 |
Intel Corporation |
32 |
22 |
Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. |
31 |
23 |
Champ Tech Optical (Foshan) Corporation |
31 |
24 |
President And Fellows Of Harvard College |
30 |
25 |
Dell Software Inc. |
30 |
26 |
Zhen Ding Technology Co., Ltd. |
29 |
27 |
Qi Ding Technology Qinhuangdao Co., Ltd. |
29 |
28 |
Deka Products Limited Partnership |
29 |
29 |
Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited |
28 |
30 |
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha AKA Sharp Corporation |
28 |
Source: ktMINE (www.ktmine.com)
Table 2b. Top 30 patent assignors by number of transactions, September-October 2016
# |
Assignor entity |
Number of assignments transacted |
1 |
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
81 |
2 |
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. |
32 |
3 |
Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd. |
31 |
4 |
Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. |
31 |
5 |
Zhen Ding Technology Co., Ltd. |
29 |
6 |
Henry M. Jackson Fdn For The Adv Mil/Med |
24 |
7 |
Vertellus Specialties Inc. |
23 |
8 |
Columbia Univ New York Morningside |
18 |
9 |
University Of California, San Francisco |
17 |
10 |
Meyerhofer, Eric |
16 |
11 |
Cire, Frank |
16 |
12 |
Kaylin, Clifford |
15 |
13 |
Bank Of America, N.A., As Administrative Agent |
15 |
14 |
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft |
14 |
15 |
Dana-Farber Cancer Inst |
14 |
16 |
Sharp Laboratories Of America, Inc. |
13 |
17 |
King, David William |
12 |
18 |
Bank Of America, N.A., As Collateral Agent |
12 |
19 |
Siemens Corporation |
11 |
20 |
Ross, Caitlyn |
11 |
21 |
Bank Of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., As Collateral Agent |
11 |
22 |
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association |
9 |
23 |
Wayne State University |
9 |
24 |
Medoff, Marshall |
9 |
25 |
Kimree Hi-Tech Inc. |
9 |
26 |
University Of South Florida |
8 |
27 |
ScienBiziP Consulting(Shenzhen)Co.,Ltd. |
8 |
28 |
Indiana University Research And Technology Corporation |
8 |
29 |
University Of Utah |
7 |
30 |
Princeton University |
7 |
Source: ktMINE (www.ktmine.com)