Fault Isolation Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Fault Isolation and Failure Localization Patents
One clear leader, then a long tail. the top-ranked assignee holds 19 records against a fifth-place count of 4 and a tenth-place count of 2, across 28 ranked companies. Annual filings ran at 5 in 2017, rose unevenly, and peaked at 7 in 2022. The evidence set also shows a sharper recent signal: 2021 (1 filing) to 2024 (5 filings) is a +400% increase over that three-year span, using 2024 as the last year that can be treated as complete before publication lag thins out the count.
- 1INTEL CORP19
- 2FEI EFA INC16
- 3FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV12
- 4BROWN UNIV RES FOUND INC5
- 5ULTRA TEC MFG4
See the full fault isolation and failure localization analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who holds the most patents in fault isolation and failure localization?
One assignee leads the 28-company ranking with 19 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked company at 4 and the tenth at 2. That gap indicates a concentrated core of technique patents held by a single filer, with the remaining companies each holding smaller, more specialized portfolios. Anyone assessing freedom to operate in this space should check the leader’s claims first, since they set the boundary most new filings will run into.
Is patent filing activity in this field growing or slowing down?
Filings grew +400% from 2021 (1 filing) to 2024 (5 filings), which is the clearest growth signal in this dataset. The peak year overall is 2022, with 7 filings. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower, but that reflects publication lag of roughly 18 months rather than an actual slowdown, so those recent years should not be read as a declining trend.
What patent classes cover fault isolation and failure localization techniques?
The dominant IPC subclasses are G01R (electric and magnetic measurement), covering 40.9% of the 66 records in scope, and G01N (material analysis and testing) at 36.4%, with H01L (semiconductor devices) at 31.8%. Narrower classes such as H01J, H10W, H10D, H10N and H10P each cover between roughly 9% and 17% of records. Because records can carry multiple classes, these figures add up to more than 100% and should not be treated as mutually exclusive shares.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fault Isolation and Failure Localization covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.