Shale Shaker Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Shale Shaker and Screen Technology Patents
54.4% concentration. The top 5 assignees hold 279 of 513 records in scope — filing here is dominated by a small set of oilfield equipment makers, not a fragmented field. Filings rose from 7 in 2017 to a peak of 23 in 2020, then declined; the 2021-to-2024 span shows a -53% drop (17 to 8), a period long enough to be read past the 18-month publication lag. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as a continued decline.
- 1NAT OILWELL VARCO LP88
- 2M I LLC(US)81
- 3HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC41
- 4VARCO I P INC40
- 5UNITED WIRE LTD GB29
See the full shale shakers and screen technology 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 shale shaker screen patents?
The dataset’s ranking of 100 assignees shows a single company well ahead of the field, holding 88 of the 513 records in scope. The top 5 assignees combined account for 279 records, or 54.4% of all records, and the top 10 reach 70.2%. This concentration means most of the defended claim space sits with a handful of established oilfield equipment and services companies rather than being spread evenly across the industry.
Is shale shaker patent filing growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked in 2020 at 23 records and has declined since, with a documented -53% change between 2021 (17 records) and 2024 (8 records). That 2021-2024 window is the most reliable trend because 2024 is the last year publication lag has largely caught up with; 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as evidence of a continued drop.
What technology areas do shale shaker patents cover?
The dominant IPC subclass is B07B (sieving & sorting), present on 56.3% of the 513 records, followed by E21B (earth & rock drilling wells) at 41.5% and B01D (separation processes including filtration) at 38.6%. Smaller categories include materials (C09K), image processing (G06T), coatings (B05D), wire working (B21F) and material testing (G01N), each under 7% of records, marking narrower adjacent claim areas layered onto the core screen mechanics.
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 Shale Shakers and Screen Technology covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. 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.