Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Patent Landscape 2026
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Patent Landscape in 2026
The reconfigurable intelligent surface field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, with Samsung Electronics holding a commanding lead, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak. Activity is highly concentrated among a small number of telecom equipment and device makers, with WIPO filings as the dominant protection route.
Samsung commands a dominant position in a highly concentrated field
Samsung Electronics ranks first by a wide margin, followed by Qualcomm, NEC, Huawei, and LG Electronics. The top five filers together account for 71% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, signaling an unusually tight competitive concentration for an emerging wireless technology.
A pronounced tier gap separates Samsung from all challengers: the nearest rival, Qualcomm, holds a fraction of Samsung’s position. A second cluster of mid-tier players — NEC, Huawei, LG Electronics, NTT Docomo, and ZTE — competes within a narrower band, while the remainder of the top twenty includes universities and regional operators.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 8,406 | |
| 2 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 1,327 | |
| 3 | NEC Corporation | 1,225 | |
| 4 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 901 | |
| 5 | LG Electronics Inc. | 655 | |
| 6 | NTT Docomo, Inc. | 520 | |
| 7 | ZTE Corporation | 430 | |
| 8 | Kyocera Corporation | 341 | |
| 9 | Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. | 291 | |
| 10 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson | 157 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | NANJING UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 155 | |
| 12 | CHONGQING UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 144 | |
| 13 | BEIJING UNIV OF POSTS & TELECOMM | 139 | |
| 14 | Sony Group Corporation | 135 | |
| 15 | Southeast University | 126 | |
| 16 | Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd. | 123 | |
| 17 | InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. | 100 | |
| 18 | China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. | 95 | |
| 19 | Honor Device Co., Ltd. | 90 | |
| 20 | China Telecom Corporation Limited | 89 |
Samsung’s scale implies broad freedom-to-operate risk for any new entrant building RIS-enabled products in wireless communication networks. Challengers with differentiated technology angles — particularly in transmission beamforming (Qualcomm’s H04B 7 focus) or network planning (NEC’s H04W 24 emphasis) — may find defensible positions at the sub-class level.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are understated relative to their eventual totals due to typical patent publication lag; the apparent easing from the 2023 peak should not be read as a contraction in underlying R&D activity.
Explosive growth from 2019 to 2023, with wireless network control dominating the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition charts together reveal a field that moved from near-zero activity in 2019 to its highest recorded annual volume in 2023, with wireless communication sub-classes accounting for the bulk of all filings.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible through 2018, then rose sharply: 18 records in 2019, 323 in 2020, 1,746 in 2021, 4,252 in 2022, and a peak of 5,521 in 2023. The 2024 and 2025 figures are understated due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as a sustained decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04W (Wireless communication networks) is overwhelmingly dominant, followed by H04B (Transmission, general) and H04L (Digital information transmission). AI-model computing (G06N), radar and positioning (G01S), and antennas (H01Q) each represent a small share, marking them as comparatively under-served branches within this corpus.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Reconfigurable intelligent surface, communication …
Provided are a reconfigurable intelligent surface, a communication method using the reconfigurable intelligent surface, and a transceiver device including the reconfigurable intelligent surface. The reconfigurable intelligent surface may include a plurality of unit cells arranged in a mesh form, a beam steering module electrically connected to the plurality… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems and methods using configurable surfaces fo… | 191 |
| 2 | Method for Intelligent Reflecting Surface Aided Te… | 187 |
| 3 | 基于智能反射面的定位信息辅助波束控制方法 | 156 |
| 4 | Method and apparatus for transceiving signal using… | 146 |
| 5 | Data processing method and apparatus with wireless… | 118 |
| 6 | 可重构智能表面辅助的多用户MIMO上行链路传输方法 | 107 |
| 7 | 一种基于智能反射面的多小区无线通信方法 | 99 |
| 8 | UE positioning aided by reconfigurable reflecting … | 96 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural dimensions — maturity, concentration, collaboration patterns, and geography — shape the risk and opportunity profile for teams entering or expanding in the RIS space.
Growth stage: multi-year expansion with annual volume easing from 2023 peak
The field is classified as Growth, supported by a 581% increase in filings over the recent three-year window versus the prior three-year window. Annual volume peaked in 2023 at 5,521 records and has eased since, though publication lag means 2024 and 2025 totals will revise upward. Teams entering now face a maturing but not yet crowded standards landscape.
Growth stageTop five filers hold 71% share among the hundred largest filers — entry barriers are real
The top five applicants — Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm, NEC, Huawei, and LG Electronics — collectively account for 71% of patent families among the hundred largest filers. This level of concentration is high for a field less than a decade old, and suggests that broad platform patents in core wireless scheduling and beamforming are already well-staked. New entrants are better positioned targeting specific application verticals or hardware sub-systems.
High concentrationSamsung-university co-filings dominate; Huawei pairs with Shenzhen research institutes
The most active co-filing pair is Samsung Electronics with its Beijing R&D subsidiary (39 joint families), followed by NTT Docomo with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (15). Samsung also co-files with Seoul National University R&D Foundation (13), Yonsei University (11), and Sungkyunkwan University (9). Huawei co-files with both the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and the Shenzhen Institute of Big Data (11 each). These patterns suggest that leading players are integrating academic research pipelines directly into their patent strategies.
Ecosystem co-filingWIPO and EPO lead; India and Japan are secondary but growing protection targets
WIPO (PCT) is the top filing jurisdiction, followed by Europe (EPO) and the United States, then China. India and Japan represent meaningful secondary markets. The broad PCT-first strategy among top filers indicates an expectation of global commercialization, which increases the cost of freedom-to-operate clearance for any entrant planning multi-market product launches.
Global PCT-firstGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Samsung Research China – Beijing | 39 |
| NTT Docomo, Inc. | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation | 15 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Seoul National University R&DB Foundation | 13 |
| LG Electronics Inc. | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) | 13 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Yonsei University | 11 |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) | 11 |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | Shenzhen Institute of Big Data | 11 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Sungkyunkwan University | 9 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 浦项工科大学校产学协力团 | 7 |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | UI (UNIVERSITY IND FOUNDATION) YONSEI UNIVERSITY | 6 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Samsung leads on scale; Qualcomm and NEC lead on targeted transmission and network focus
Two players stand out beyond the pack: Samsung Electronics with an outsized absolute position, and Qualcomm with the strongest proportional momentum among established challengers. Their technology emphases differ materially.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics holds 8,406 patent families — more than six times the nearest rival — with a momentum trend of approximately 20× versus the prior three-year window. Its technology focus is concentrated in H04W 72 (resource scheduling in wireless networks), H04L 5 (channel multiplexing), and H04W 76 (connection management). Co-filing agreements with multiple Korean universities reinforce its position across both standards and implementation layers.
families: 8,406Qualcomm Inc.
Qualcomm holds 1,327 patent families and shows a momentum trend of +102% versus the prior three-year window — strong proportional growth for an established player. Its primary focus is H04B 7 (multi-antenna transmission), followed by H04L 5 and H04W 64 (location services), indicating a differentiated emphasis on physical-layer beamforming and positioning rather than the network scheduling angle favored by Samsung.
families: 1,327| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 6,988 | ▲ 20× vs prior 3-yr |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 830 | ▲ +102% |
| NEC Corporation | 1,076 | ▲ 9.0× vs prior 3-yr |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 624 | ▲ 6.6× vs prior 3-yr |
| LG Electronics Inc. | 608 | ▲ new entrant |
| NTT Docomo, Inc. | 258 | ▬ +5% |
| ZTE Corporation | 352 | ▲ 8.4× vs prior 3-yr |
| Kyocera Corporation | 181 | ▲ new entrant |
AI-driven optimization, radar-positioning, and antenna hardware are under-served relative to core wireless filings
Five IPC branches sit at low shares of total records despite plausible and growing relevance to RIS deployment. These observations of relative sparsity do not automatically validate commercial opportunity, but three branches have concrete technical and entry-path arguments worth evaluating.
G06N · AI-model computing for RIS optimization
G06N accounts for a small share of records despite the fact that channel estimation and phase-shift optimization for RIS are well-suited to deep reinforcement learning and neural-network approaches. Academic literature in this direction is prolific, but patent filings remain thin relative to the core H04W stack. Teams with AI/ML expertise in wireless channel modeling could establish early IP positions here before the major telecom OEMs redirect their research pipelines. Entry path: focus on AI-driven real-time phase configuration algorithms and their hardware interfaces.
Search this in Eureka →G01S · Radar, sensing, and RIS-assisted positioning
G01S (radar, sonar, and positioning) is similarly sparse relative to the dominant wireless communication classes. RIS has recognized potential for simultaneous communication and sensing (ISAC) applications, including indoor localization and environmental mapping. Given the WIPO-first filing pattern of leading players, early movers in RIS-assisted radar and positioning could secure PCT-level coverage before the ISAC standards track matures. Entry path: integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system architectures using RIS as a passive radar element.
Search this in Eureka →Leaders diverge on physical-layer transmission versus network management emphasis
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H04B 7 · Transmission (general) | H04W 72 · Wireless communication networks | H04W 24 · Wireless communication networks | H04L 5 · Digital information transmission | H04W 76 · Wireless communication networks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Moderate · 1,379 | Strong · 3,203 | Moderate · 1,356 | Strong · 2,054 | Strong · 1,815 |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | Strong · 750 | Moderate · 194 | Moderate · 156 | Moderate · 216 | Emerging · 54 |
| LG Electronics Inc. | Moderate · 111 | Strong · 419 | Moderate · 200 | Strong · 234 | Moderate · 102 |
| NEC Corporation | Moderate · 106 | Strong · 357 | Strong · 219 | Moderate · 109 | Moderate · 78 |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | Strong · 259 | Strong · 214 | Strong · 131 | Moderate · 103 | Emerging · 19 |
| ZTE Corporation | Strong · 148 | Strong · 109 | Moderate · 56 | Moderate · 58 | Absent |
| Kyocera Corporation | Absent | Strong · 81 | Strong · 79 | Absent | Strong · 107 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 18,915 patent families in scope globally, spanning filings from 2019 through 2026, with the most active period being 2021 through 2023.
Samsung Electronics is the largest filer with 8,406 patent families, more than six times the size of the second-ranked applicant, Qualcomm (1,327 patent families).
WIPO (PCT) is the leading filing jurisdiction, reflecting a broad international protection strategy among the dominant applicants, followed by Europe (EPO) and the United States.
The field is in a Growth stage. Recent three-year filings are 581% above the prior three-year window on a multi-year basis. Annual volume peaked in 2023 and has eased since, though 2024 and 2025 figures are partially understated by publication lag.
AI-model computing (G06N), radar and positioning (G01S), antenna hardware (H01Q), digital data processing (G06F), and multiplex communication (H04J) each represent a small share of records compared with H04W, H04B, and H04L, making them comparatively under-served adjacent branches.
Samsung Electronics and its Beijing R&D subsidiary are the most active co-filing pair with 39 joint families. NTT Docomo and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone follow with 15. Samsung also co-files with Seoul National University R&D Foundation (13 families), Yonsei University (11), and Huawei co-files with both the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and the Shenzhen Institute of Big Data (11 each).
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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.
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