IoT Connectivity Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
IoT Connectivity Patents: Who Leads and Where the Claim Space Still Opens Up
56.5% concentration. The top five assignees alone account for 142,015 of the 251,148 records in scope — a field where the leading tier already occupies most of the core claim space. Filings rose from 1,134 in 2017 to a peak of 2,883 in 2022, then settled to 2,553 by 2024 (-2% versus 2021's 2,602) — a plateau rather than a decline once the reporting lag on 2025-2026 is taken into account.
- 1QUALCOMM INC33.9%
- 2TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)10.8%
- 3HUAWEI TECH CO LTD4.5%
- 4SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD3.8%
- 5INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS INC3.6%
See the full iot connectivity patent landscape 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 on IoT connectivity patents
Who are the leading patent holders in IoT connectivity?
The ranking of 100 companies in this dataset is led by a single assignee holding 85,038 of the 251,148 records in scope, with the top five combined accounting for 56.5% of all records. The concentration drops off sharply after the top few positions — fifth place holds 9,065 records versus 3,596 at tenth. This pattern is typical of fields anchored by chipset makers and standards-essential patent holders whose portfolios span multiple wireless generations.
Is IoT connectivity patent filing growing or slowing down?
Filings held roughly flat between 2021 and 2024, moving from 2,602 to 2,553 records, a -2% change over that span. Filing activity peaked in 2022 at 2,883 records. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 do not indicate an actual slowdown — those years are still filling in as applications publish.
What technology areas dominate IoT connectivity patents?
Wireless communication networks (IPC class H04W) and digital information transmission (H04L) dominate, covering 5.1% and 4.0% of all 251,148 records respectively. Electric digital data processing (G06F) and general transmission (H04B) follow at much lower shares. Classes tied to positioning, AI models and control systems each account for under 1% of records, indicating comparatively lighter filing activity in those adjacent areas.
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 IoT Connectivity Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. 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.