IC Substrate Buildup Layers Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
IC Substrate Buildup Layer Patents: Filing Trends, Leading Filers and Open Claim Space
62.8% concentration. The five leading assignees together hold 1,124 of the 1,789 records in scope — a small group controls most of the documented claim space. Filings ran from 133 in 2017 to a peak of 157 in 2022, then declined to 81 by 2024 — a 43% drop from the 2021 level of 143. The 2025 and 2026 figures are understated by publication lag of roughly 18 months and should not be read as a continuing decline.
- 1INTEL CORP774
- 2SILVEBROOK KIA100
- 3QUALCOMM INC97
- 4TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD85
- 5IBIDEN CO LTD68
See the full ic substrate buildup layers 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 IC substrate buildup layer patents
Who holds the most patents on IC substrate buildup layers?
The corpus shows a steep leader-and-long-tail structure: the leading assignee holds 774 of the 1,789 records in scope, more than eleven times the fifth-ranked filer’s 68. The top five assignees combined account for 62.8% of all records, and the top ten reach 71.4%. This level of concentration means most freedom-to-operate work should start with the leading filers’ portfolios rather than scanning the full ranked list of 100 companies evenly.
Is the IC substrate buildup layer field still growing?
Filings ran from 133 in 2017 to a peak of 157 in 2022, then dropped to 81 by 2024, a 43% decline from the 2021 level of 143. However, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in the underlying data are still incomplete and should not be read as confirmation of a continuing slowdown. A clearer read on 2023-2024 trend direction will only be possible once later filings finish publishing.
What technology areas dominate IC substrate buildup layer claims?
H01L (semiconductor devices) appears in 76.0% of the 1,789 records, by far the largest single classification, with H10W at 38.7% and H05K (printed circuits and assemblies) at 24.0%. Narrower classes including H10P, G06F, G02B, H01Q and H10D each cover under 8% of records. Because a record can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares overlap rather than summing to 100%, and the narrower classes are worth checking individually for under-claimed technical routes.
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 IC Substrate Buildup Layers 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.