Metamaterials Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Metamaterials patents: mapping who is filing, what they claim, and where the field is still open
Concentrated but not locked up. the leading assignee alone accounts for 59 of 836 records, yet the top 5 combined hold only 25.4% of all filings — a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants still has room to move. Filings peaked at 92 in 2017. The 2021-to-2024 window, the most recent period that can be treated as complete, shows a move from 55 to 47 filings — a 15% decline. Years beyond 2024 are still filling in as publications catch up to filing dates.
- 1MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION & RESEARCH7.1%
- 2RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA6.0%
- 3BAKER HUGHES CO5.7%
- 4DUKE UNIV3.5%
- 5GEORGIA TECH RES CORP3.1%
See the full metamaterials 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
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the most metamaterials patents?
Among the 836 records in this dataset, a single research foundation leads with 59 records, ahead of a field of universities, research corporations and materials or energy companies. The top 5 assignees combined hold 212 records, or 25.4% of all 836 records in scope, which means the field is led but not dominated by any one organisation. The remaining three-quarters of filings are spread across a long tail of 100 ranked entrants, many with only a handful of filings each.
Is metamaterials patent filing growing or slowing down?
Filing activity peaked in 2017 at 92 records and has not returned to that level since. Looking at the most recent complete window, filings fell from 55 in 2021 to 47 in 2024, a 15% decline. It would be a mistake to read the years after 2024 as confirming further decline, however, because patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent one to two years in any dataset are always undercounted.
What technology areas dominate metamaterials patents?
Optical elements and systems (IPC class G02B) lead at 12.0% of the 836 records, closely followed by antennas (H01Q) at 11.6%. Additive manufacturing, semiconductor devices, material analysis, nanotechnology applications, medicinal preparations and surface coatings each account for roughly 7-8% of records. Because a single patent can be tagged with multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total, reflecting how metamaterials concepts get applied across several downstream fields simultaneously.
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 Metamaterials 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.