Quantum Key Distribution Integration Patents: Leaders & Gaps 2026
- Small, recent field. 19 families total, with filings only reaching a visible peak of 9 in 2025 — this is a landscape still being written, not a mature one.
- Filing is not accelerating on trend. the 2022 midpoint of 3 sits well below the 2025 peak, and the path between them is uneven rather than steadily climbing.
- India leads by receiving office. 8 records filed there against 5 in the United States and 3 in China, an unusual geographic center of gravity for this technology.
What this dataset covers
This landscape tracks patent families addressing quantum key distribution system integration — the engineering problem of connecting QKD hardware into working networks, including trusted-node architectures and coexistence between classical and quantum signals on shared infrastructure. The search combines quantum communication terminology with integration-specific claim language (QKD network integration, trusted-node integration, classical-quantum co-existence, system integration) restricted to core cryptographic and optical-transmission IPC classes.
The corpus is small: 19 published families across a coverage window from 2015 to mid-2026. That size matters for how the numbers should be read — a handful of filings can shift a yearly count noticeably, and the most recent year is always undercounted because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 19-family dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filings by year
Recorded activity moves from zero in 2017 to a peak of 9 in 2025, passing through a midpoint of just 3 filings in 2022. That shape is closer to a late, concentrated burst than a steady climb — treat any read of sustained annual growth with caution given the 2026 figure is still partial.
IPC subclass distribution
H04L (digital information transmission) and H04B (transmission, general) dominate at 16 and 10 records respectively, consistent with a field defined by network and signal-layer integration rather than device physics. Smaller counts in G06N, G06F, A61B, G01C, G01M and G02B show integration claims spilling into computing, testing and optical-component territory, but each of those branches has only one to three records — thin enough that no single one yet constitutes a claim cluster.
Shares are the percentage of the 19 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Quantum Key Distribution System Integration with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about quantum key distribution system integration and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited prior art and a representative filing
WO2023277781A1 — Encoder, decoder, systems and methods for d-dimensional frequency-encoded quantum communication and information processing
The disclosure covers an encoder for quantum communication built from a first dispersive element and an encoder modulator. The dispersive element time-delays states of a d-dimensional frequency-binned single photon based on frequency, time-binning the photon's states; the encoder modulator then modulates those time-bins according to a predetermined modulation scheme.Filed by Bourennane, Mohamed and published 2023-01-05; a related family member (SE2150855A1) appears independently in the same citation set.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20160164615A1 | System for continuously active stabilization of interferometers in quantum time-bin entanglement distribution | 27 |
| 2 | US20240340091A1 | Encoder, decoder, systems and methods for d-dimensional frequency-encoded quantum communication and informati… | 2 |
| 3 | SE2150855A1 | Encoder, decoder, systems and methods for d-dimensional frequency-encoded quantum communication and informati… | 2 |
| 4 | CN113497705A | 一种偏振调制器、驱动方法及量子密钥分发系统 | 2 |
| 5 | CN121333636A | 面向抗量子电力通信系统的测试系统及测试方法 | 1 |
| 6 | US9954623B2 | System for continuously active stabilization of interferometers in quantum time-bin entanglement distribution | 1 |
Citation counts inside a bounded corpus like this one skew toward older filings that have simply had more time to accumulate references — read them as a signal of influence on the field's vocabulary, not as a ranking of current importance. US20160164615A1, on interferometer stabilization for quantum time-bin entanglement distribution, carries by far the most citations here at 27, well ahead of the next tier.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (6 of 6 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three read-outs from the filing, citation and geographic data, framed for a team deciding where to invest or watch.
A late, uneven build-up
Filing activity did not climb steadily from 2017; it stayed low through the 2022 midpoint of 3 before reaching its recorded peak of 9 in 2025. A field this size can look like it is accelerating or stalling depending on a few filings either way, so treat 2026's lower count as incomplete rather than a real slowdown.
One older filing anchors the field's vocabulary
US20160164615A1, on interferometer stabilization in quantum time-bin entanglement distribution, is cited far more than anything else in the set. The next tier of cited records sits at 2 citations each, which suggests the field's technical language is still being set by a small number of foundational disclosures rather than a broad citation network.
India ahead of the US and China
Receiving-office counts put India at 8, the United States at 5 and China at 3, with single filings at the EPO, in Sweden and via the WIPO PCT route. That ordering is atypical for quantum communication generally and worth checking against applicant nationality before drawing conclusions about where R&D investment is actually happening.
Co-filing exists but is shallow
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, each linked at a single joint filing rather than a repeated pattern. The strongest pairings all involve one individual inventor appearing with different named collaborators, which points to individual-inventor filing activity rather than institutionalised joint R&D programmes.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to quantum key distribution system integration, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the field stays open
With 19 families spread across a mix of individual inventors, universities and a handful of corporate and state-utility assignees, no single entity in this dataset holds a commanding filing position. Recent-year momentum figures show most named assignees at zero filings in the latest year, which is consistent with a field where activity is still episodic rather than programmatic.
Momentum has not carried into the most recent year
Several assignees tracked for recent-year momentum, including Bourennane Mohamed, Vencore Labs, and multiple Chinese state and university entities, show zero filings in the latest year, with one showing a -100% year-on-year change. Only one organisation in the momentum list registers activity in the latest year, at a single filing.
Individual inventors, not filing programmes
The strongest co-assignee links in the dataset connect one individual inventor to several different named collaborators, each appearing once. That pattern reads as ad hoc or academic co-filing rather than a company running a sustained integration patent programme.
Universities and utilities sit alongside corporates
The assignee set mixes a Chinese state grid utility, university research groups, a named individual academic (Bourennane, Mohamed), and corporate entities such as Vencore Labs. No single filer type dominates the corpus, which is typical of a technology area still moving from lab demonstration toward network deployment.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Symbiosis International University | 1 | — |
| BOURENNANE MOHAMED | 0 | — |
| VENCORE LABS | 0 | — |
| Shandong Guoxun Quantum Chip Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| State Grid Anhui Electric Power Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| Sun Yat-sen University | 0 | — |
| UMATE PANKAJ SAHEBRAO | 0 | -100% |
| THIAGARAJAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING | 0 | -100% |
Where to take this next
This landscape is a starting point for a freedom-to-operate check or a competitive watch list, not a substitute for either.
Check citation-linked prior art before drafting
The most-cited record in this set, US20160164615A1, anchors interferometer-stabilization language that later filings reference. Any new filing on entanglement-distribution hardware should be checked against it directly rather than assumed to be clear.
Explore prior art in EurekaTrack momentum, not just headcount
Most assignees here show zero recent-year filings, so a watch list built on historical family counts alone will miss where activity is actually shifting. Recheck momentum figures periodically as 2025-2026 publications continue to lag into the record.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaTest the open sub-areas for claim room
Branches like classical-quantum coexistence and trusted-node relay protocols carry only a handful of records each. A first claim drafted specifically to one of those sub-areas has more room than one aimed at the crowded H04L core.
Run a white space search in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
This dataset identifies 19 published patent families matching integration-specific claim language for QKD, filed between 2015 and mid-2026. That is a small corpus by patent-landscape standards, which means yearly counts can swing noticeably based on just a few filings. Families, rather than raw document counts, are the fairer unit here because they remove duplicate counting across continuations and multiple jurisdictions.
No single company holds a dominant position in this corpus; filing is spread across individual inventors, university groups, a state grid utility, and corporate entities such as Vencore Labs. Recent-year momentum data shows most tracked assignees at zero filings in the latest year, indicating episodic rather than sustained filing programmes. Anyone building a competitive watch list should track momentum year over year rather than relying on a single cumulative ranking.
Not steadily. Filings moved from zero in 2017 to a midpoint of 3 in 2022, then to a recorded peak of 9 in 2025, which is an uneven path rather than consistent year-on-year growth. The 2026 figure is partial because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent year always understates real activity — it should not be read as a decline.
IPC subclasses outside the dominant H04L and H04B core — including G06N, G06F, A61B, G01C, G01M and G02B — each carry only one to three records, suggesting integration claims touching computing, testing, navigation and optics are thinly filed. Sub-areas like classical-quantum coexistence on shared fibre and trusted-node relay protocols also show limited claim density. These are the areas most likely to still have room for a well-scoped first claim, but each needs a dedicated freedom-to-operate check before drafting.
US20160164615A1, covering continuously active stabilization of interferometers in quantum time-bin entanglement distribution, is the most cited record in this corpus at 27 citations, well ahead of the next tier which sits at 2 citations each. High citation counts in a bounded corpus like this tend to favour older filings that have simply had more time to accumulate references, so treat this as a measure of influence on the field's terminology rather than a ranking of current commercial relevance.
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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.