RIS Spectrum Sharing Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2023 at 13 families and had already flattened by the 2022 midpoint of 8, suggesting the current claim space is close to settled rather than still opening up.
- China filed 25 of the 40 tracked families against 6 from India, 4 from the EPO and 4 via PCT, so the receiving-office spread is narrow and China-centric.
- The most-cited record, WO2023037243A1, has 42 citations far ahead of the next tier at single digits — a strong signal of influence on later filings, not a claim of current dominance.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent families at the intersection of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and spectrum sharing — filings that combine RIS or intelligent reflecting surface hardware claims with cognitive radio, interference suppression or coexistence-enhancement techniques, concentrated in H04B, H04W and H01Q. It spans records published between 2015 and mid-2026 across five receiving offices.
The corpus is small at 40 families, which means single filings can move percentages sharply; read shares as direction rather than precision. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2026 count of 2 understates work already filed but not yet public.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 40-family corpus: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the technical weight.
A peak in 2023, then a pullback
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 13 in 2023, passing through 8 at the 2022 midpoint. The pattern is flat-to-declining rather than accelerating, which is unusual for a topic still framed as emerging — it suggests the addressable claim space around RIS-aided spectrum sharing narrowed once the early wave of foundational filings landed.
H04B and H04W dominate; supporting classes are thin
H04B (36 records) and H04W (23) account for the bulk of filings, confirming this is fundamentally a transmission and wireless-network-architecture problem. H01Q (7) and H04L (7) appear as secondary claim anchors for antenna structures and digital signalling, while H04K (2), G02B (1) and G16Y (1) show only token activity — these are areas where RIS-specific claims have barely been tested.
Shares are the percentage of the 40 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Spectrum Sharing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about reconfigurable intelligent surface spectrum sharing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
Air-ground co-frequency interference suppression using RIS incident-angle steering (EP4344280A1, ZTE Corporation)
The filing addresses interference between an air-to-ground (ATG) base station and co-frequency ground base stations by identifying the set of ground stations that interfere with a given ATG first base station, then placing an RIS device to intercept the interference path for each. The method computes the incident angle of the interfering beam at the RIS and derives a reflection response from that angle and the interference signal itself, effectively using the RIS as a steerable null rather than a passive reflector.Filed by ZTE Corporation, published 2024-03-27.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO2023037243A1 | Reconfigurable intelligent surface enabled leakage suppression and signal power maximization system and method | 42 |
| 2 | CN114337762A | 利用部分CSI的RIS辅助认知无线电无线安全通信传输方法 | 9 |
| 3 | CN113285742A | 一种认知无线电波束赋形的优化方法及系统 | 8 |
| 4 | CN117997402A | 多层智能超表面辅助的多用户上行通信方法和装置 | 7 |
| 5 | CN115190448A | 智能反射面辅助的认知无人机通信网络设计方法 | 6 |
| 6 | CN115066009A | 认知无线电中基于智能反射面的多用户频谱共享的方法 | 6 |
| 7 | CN116405078A | IRS辅助认知无线电系统的波束形成方法、装置及介质 | 5 |
| 8 | CN118945647A | UAV机载IRS辅助认知无线网络中安全能效优化方法 | 3 |
| 9 | CN117858255A | 一种物联网智能反射面增强的频谱感知与安全传输系统 | 3 |
| 10 | WO2022242346A1 | 空地同频系统干扰抑制方法、装置、电子设备和可读介质 | 3 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; treat them as a signal of prior-art weight, not of present-day commercial relevance.
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. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three read-outs from the filing trend, geography and citation pattern that matter for anyone deciding where to file or search next.
Growth has already flattened
The rise from 0 in 2017 to a peak of 13 in 2023 looks like early-stage growth until you note the 2022 midpoint was already 8 — most of the ramp happened before the peak year, and 2024-2026 figures (not yet at peak) suggest a plateau rather than continued acceleration.
A China-centric filing pattern
China's receiving-office count is four times the next largest (India). The US, at just 1 filing, is a striking gap for a topic with clear 5G/6G commercial relevance — either activity is happening under different classification codes or US filers have not yet prioritised RIS spectrum-sharing claims specifically.
One filing carries outsized influence
WO2023037243A1 sits far above the rest of the corpus on citations, with the next tier clustering at 6-9. That gap typically marks a foundational technique — leakage suppression combined with power maximization — that later filers had to cite or design around.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to reconfigurable intelligent surface spectrum sharing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the openings sit
Recent-year momentum is muted across the board — no assignee in this corpus shows positive year-on-year growth at the latest data point, and several long-standing filers have gone quiet.
Vellore Institute of Technology holds the only active filing
Among tracked assignees, Vellore Institute of Technology is the sole one with a filing in the latest year, though flat YoY growth means it is a continuation of prior activity rather than a new push.
Several university filers have stopped
Guangzhou University shows a -100% year-on-year drop, and Samsung, Hainan University, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and ZTE all sit at zero in the latest year despite prior filings — consistent with the corpus-wide plateau in the trend data.
A small, still-open field
At 40 families total, no single assignee has built a dominant portfolio; the field remains accessible to new entrants willing to file around the handful of highly-cited foundational documents.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| VELLORE INSITUTE OF TECH | 1 | 0% |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Korea) | 0 | — |
| Hainan University | 0 | — |
| Guangzhou University | 0 | -100% |
| Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications | 0 | — |
| ZTE Corporation | 0 | — |
| Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications | 0 | — |
| Chongqing University | 0 | — |
Where to take this
The trend and assignee data point to a narrow, plateauing field with specific gaps rather than broad white space.
Map the H04K and G02B gap in detail
Only 2 and 1 records respectively sit in secret/jamming and optical-element classes despite clear technical overlap with RIS interference suppression — worth a targeted search before assuming the space is empty.
Explore adjacent IPC classes in EurekaTrack the quiet assignees for reactivation
Several universities and Samsung and ZTE show zero recent-year filings after prior activity; a portfolio watch would catch any return before it shows up in public rankings.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaStudy the 42-citation foundational filing closely
WO2023037243A1's leakage-suppression and power-maximization approach anchors much of the later citation graph and is the most likely document any new filing will need to distinguish from.
Read the full citation graph in EurekaCommon questions
A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), sometimes called an intelligent reflecting surface, is a panel of passive or near-passive elements that can adjust the phase or amplitude of an incident radio wave to steer it in a controlled direction. In spectrum-sharing contexts, that steering is used to suppress interference between co-channel users, strengthen a wanted signal path, or shape beams for cognitive-radio coexistence without adding active RF chains. This patent dataset specifically tracks filings that combine RIS hardware or control claims with cognitive radio, interference-suppression or coexistence-enhancement techniques, rather than RIS patents in general.
The corpus of 40 tracked families is spread across a mix of Chinese universities, Samsung, ZTE and academic institutions such as Vellore Institute of Technology, with no single assignee holding a dominant share. Recent-year momentum is muted across nearly all of them, with most sitting at zero filings in the latest tracked year. This points to a field that is still open to new entrants rather than one locked up by an incumbent portfolio.
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 13 in 2023, but the 2022 midpoint was already 8, meaning most of the growth happened before the peak year rather than continuing to build afterward. The apparent decline since then partly reflects publication lag of roughly 18 months, so 2024-2026 counts are understated. Combined with the flat year-on-year momentum shown across nearly every assignee, the pattern looks more like a maturing, settled claim space than an active downturn in R&D interest.
H04B (transmission systems, 36 of 40 records) and H04W (wireless communication networks, 23 records) carry the bulk of the technical claims, confirming this is primarily a signal-transmission and network-architecture problem. H01Q (antennas) and H04L (digital transmission) each appear in 7 records as supporting claim anchors. Classes like H04K (jamming/secrecy), G02B (optical elements) and G16Y (IoT data processing) show only one or two records each, marking them as thin but not necessarily unpatentable territory.
EP4344280A1, filed by ZTE Corporation and published 2024-03-27, covers a method for suppressing interference in an air-to-ground co-frequency system by identifying interfering ground base stations, positioning an RIS device to intercept each interference path, computing the incident angle of the interference signal at the RIS, and deriving the RIS's response from that angle and the signal itself. It blocks approaches that use this specific sequence — base-station-set identification, RIS placement per interferer, angle-based response derivation — for air-ground coexistence specifically. It does not block RIS interference suppression generally, nor ground-only or non-angle-based control schemes, so there is room to design around it by using different geometry-derivation methods or targeting non-ATG scenarios.
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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.