Image & Video Processing Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- 21.2% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees account for 7,600 of the 35,869 records in scope, but the remaining filers form a long tail.
- Filing volume peaked in 2021. 1,949 records that year, falling to 1,235 by 2024 (-37%) — a real pullback, not a data artefact, since 2024 is the last complete filing year.
- Pictorial communication still dominates the claim mix. H04N covers 26.2% of all records, more than G06T image processing and G06F digital data processing combined shares suggest on their own.
Filing growth compares 2021 (1,949 records) with 2024 (1,235) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 35,869 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset pulls 35,869 published records matching image and video processing terms combined with core computer-vision functions: image sensors, feature detection, object recognition, image reconstruction, rendering and spatial tracking. The scope spans classic broadcast and display pipelines (H04N) through to AI-driven recognition (G06V, G06N) and even surgical imaging (A61B), reflecting how thoroughly computer vision has spread into adjacent hardware and diagnostic fields.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be. Treat 2024 as the last year with a reasonably complete filing count, and read 2025-2026 as still filling in rather than as evidence of decline.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 35,869 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how those records classify across IPC subclasses. Since a single record can carry several IPC codes, the class shares below sum to well over 100% — that is expected, not an error.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose from 1,042 in 2017 to a peak of 1,949 in 2021, then declined to 1,235 by 2024, a -37% move over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued slide.
IPC subclass distribution
H04N (pictorial communication) leads at 26.2% of records, followed by G06T (image data processing and generation) at 15.9% and G06F (electric digital data processing) at 10.9%. Recognition-specific classes G06K and G06V sit at 8.3% and 7.3% respectively, with G06N (AI-based computing) at 6.0% — evidence that recognition and AI-model claims are a meaningful but still secondary share of the field relative to core transmission and processing classes.
Shares are the percentage of the 35,869 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Image & Video Processing Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about image & video processing patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative claim in the field
US20200250454A1 — Video data processing (ARM Limited, 2020-08-06)
A method for processing video data that generates input frames at an image sensor and then encodes regions of interest within those frames using a different encoding scheme to the remaining regions, based on region-of-interest data supplied to the imaging device. The system pairs an imaging device (sensor plus sensor data processor) with a separate computing system, splitting the encoding workload across the two.Abstract trimmed for length; see the full record for complete claim language.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160012465A1 | System and method for distributing, receiving, and using funds or credits and apparatus thereof | 2,561 |
| 2 | US20120069131A1 | Reality alternate | 2,111 |
| 3 | US20130278631A1 | 3D positioning of augmented reality information | 2,103 |
| 4 | US20130127980A1 | Video display modification based on sensor input for a see-through near-to-eye display | 1,897 |
| 5 | US20130201316A1 | System and method for server based control | 1,724 |
| 6 | US6970183B1 | Multimedia surveillance and monitoring system including network configuration | 1,583 |
| 7 | US5495576A | Panoramic image based virtual reality/telepresence audio-visual system and method | 1,446 |
| 8 | US7030904B2 | Reduced area imaging device incorporated within wireless endoscopic devices | 1,414 |
| 9 | US6714665B1 | Fully automated iris recognition system utilizing wide and narrow fields of view | 1,349 |
| 10 | US8229549B2 | Surgical imaging device | 1,323 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations inside this corpus — treat them as a signal of influence, not of current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Read together, the concentration, trend and classification figures point to a field with an occupied top and a thinning but still active pipeline underneath it.
The top is dense, the tail is long
Top 5 assignees combined hold 21.2% of all records and the top 10 hold 32.4% — meaningful concentration, but nowhere near a monopoly. Most of the field sits with filers outside the ranked leaders, which is where new entrants are more likely to find open claim space.
Peak filing has passed, for now
Filings rose steadily through 2021 then fell to 1,235 by 2024. Recent-year assignee momentum figures show declines across nearly every major filer in the latest year, though this coincides with publication lag and should be read cautiously rather than as an exit signal.
Transmission still outweighs recognition
Pictorial communication (H04N) remains the single largest class at 26.2% of records, ahead of image processing (G06T, 15.9%) and recognition-specific classes G06K and G06V combined coverage. AI-model computing (G06N) at 6.0% suggests AI-native claims are still a minority share relative to conventional processing and transmission art.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to image & video processing patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders span sensor, chipset, platform and licensing businesses, with co-assignee links strongest inside single corporate groups rather than across companies.
A chipset and platform leader out front
The top-ranked assignee holds 2,442 records, well ahead of fifth place at 1,155 and tenth place at 542 — a steep drop-off that flattens quickly once past the top few names.
Broad pullback among top filers in the latest year
Recent-year momentum shows double-digit percentage declines across several of the largest assignees in the most recent year tracked. Given publication lag, this likely overstates the slowdown, but it is consistent enough across filers to be worth watching rather than dismissing outright.
Collaboration stays largely intra-group
The strongest co-assignee pairs link a parent company with its own subsidiaries rather than connecting unrelated organisations, suggesting most joint filings in this space reflect corporate structure rather than external technology partnerships.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 13 | -82% |
| Snap Inc | 6 | -82% |
| Qualcomm Inc | 3 | -95% |
| Intel Corp | 1 | -89% |
| Sony Group Corp | 1 | 0% |
| Google LLC | 1 | -88% |
| Apple Inc | 1 | -96% |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 1 | -96% |
Where to take this next
The figures above establish the shape of the field. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going deeper on specific claim language and specific competitors.
Check freedom-to-operate against the densest classes
H04N and G06T carry the highest record density in this landscape, so any new filing touching pictorial communication or image data processing should be checked against that prior art before drafting claims.
Run a claim search in EurekaTrack momentum, not just position
Ranking position alone misses the recent-year pullback visible across nearly every major filer; combine the assignee ranking with the year-over-year momentum figures before assuming a competitor is scaling up.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaScope the under-claimed branches directly
Sensor-side pre-processing and cross-device spatial tracking show thinner coverage than the core classes — worth a dedicated search before assuming the space is occupied.
Explore white space in EurekaQuestions practitioners ask about this landscape
The assignee ranking in this dataset covers 100 companies, with the leading filer holding 2,442 records compared with 542 at tenth place — a steep drop after the first handful of names. The top 5 assignees combined account for 21.2% of all 35,869 records in scope, and the top 10 account for 32.4%. That leaves the majority of filings spread across a long tail of smaller filers, so leadership at the top does not mean the field is closed to new entrants.
Filings grew from 1,042 in 2017 to a peak of 1,949 in 2021, then fell to 1,235 by 2024, a decline of 37% over that three-year span. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures in this dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as continued decline. 2024 is the most recent year that can reasonably be treated as a complete filing count.
H04N, the pictorial communication and video/TV transmission class, covers 26.2% of the 35,869 records in scope, making it the single largest classification in this landscape. G06T (image data processing and generation) follows at 15.9%, and G06F (electric digital data processing) at 10.9%. Because a single patent record can carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages add up to more than 100%, which is expected rather than an error.
Relative to the dense core classes of pictorial communication and image data processing, sub-areas like region-of-interest adaptive encoding, sensor-side pre-processing ahead of downstream recognition, and cross-device spatial tracking handoff show comparatively thinner filing density in this dataset. That does not guarantee an area is unpatented, but it does suggest less claim congestion than the mainstream classes. A targeted claim search in those specific sub-areas is the reliable way to confirm before committing R&D or drafting resources.
US20200250454A1, assigned to ARM Limited and published 2020-08-06, describes a video processing method where an image sensor generates input frames and the imaging device encodes regions of interest using a different encoding scheme than the rest of the frame, based on externally supplied region-of-interest data. It splits the work between an imaging device (sensor plus processor) and a separate computing system. This kind of selective, region-aware encoding claim is representative of how sensor-side and downstream processing claims are typically structured in this landscape.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.