Showerhead & Gas Distribution Patents: Top Companies, Trends 2026
Showerhead and Gas Distribution Hardware Patents
One filer holds 372 of 798 records — the single largest share in the dataset, with the next four together bringing the top five to 75.9% of everything in scope. Annual filings hit 51 in 2017, the high point of the series. The last complete year-over-year comparison available — 2021's 35 filings against 2024's 23 — shows a 34% decline, a meaningful pullback rather than noise. Years after 2024 are still incomplete under the publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of the drop.
- 1APPLIED MATERIALS INC372
- 2LAM RES CORP162
- 3BRILLIANT LIGHT POWER INC34
- 4ELECTROLUX HOME PROD CORP NV22
- 5XEFCO PTY LTD16
See the full showerhead and gas distribution hardware 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
Common questions about this landscape
Who holds the most patents on showerhead and gas distribution hardware?
One assignee accounts for 372 of the 798 records in scope, by far the largest single share in the dataset. The next four assignees bring the combined top-five share to 75.9% of all records, and the top ten reach 82.6%. That leaves a long tail of 90 additional ranked companies dividing a small remaining share, so most freedom-to-operate risk in this field concentrates around a handful of large portfolio holders rather than being spread evenly.
Is patent filing in this field growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked at 51 in 2017 and has since pulled back; the last fully comparable years show a 34% decline from 35 filings in 2021 to 23 in 2024. That is a genuine slowdown rather than noise. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around eighteen months, so it is too early to say whether the decline continues, flattens, or reverses once those years finish publishing.
What does US6844082B2 actually cover?
US6844082B2, assigned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and published in 2005, covers a gas distribution plate with an aluminium body and an anodized alumina coating designed to resist particle-forming deterioration in etch chambers. It sits on the anodized-coating branch of the landscape, which is one of the more heavily claimed areas given that C23C coating and surface deposition classes touch 45.4% of the 798 records in scope. Anyone designing a coated aluminium distribution plate for similar durability goals should review this filing and its family closely.
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 Showerhead and Gas Distribution Hardware 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.