After hitting record highs, US patent filings took a sharp dive in 2025. Experts question whether this marks a post-pandemic lag or a strategic pivot to trade secrets.
In a startling reversal for the global innovation economy, United States patent applications fell by 9% in 2025, plummeting just one year after reaching historic highs. The data, released on January 13, 2026, by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, depicts a patent landscape in flux, characterized by a sharp contraction in new filings and a stagnation in grants. While tech giants like Samsung continued to dominate the leaderboard, the broader downturn has prompted analysts to question whether major corporations are fundamentally rethinking how they protect their intellectual property.
According to reports from Digital Science and IFI CLAIMS, the number of patents actually granted by the USPTO remained relatively flat, dipping less than 1% to 323,272 in 2025. However, the steep decline in applications-the pipeline for future patents-suggests a looming gap in protected innovation. This contraction coincides with a significant reshuffling of the top players, notably with IBM, once the perennial leader of US patents, falling out of the top 10 entirely, continuing a strategic pivot that began several years ago.
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Despite the overall cooling of the market, familiar names maintained their strongholds at the top of the rankings. Samsung retained the number one spot for the fourth consecutive year, securing 7,054 grants. This represents more than 2% of all patents granted in the U.S. for the year, underscoring the South Korean conglomerate's aggressive commitment to R&D volume.
Japan also continued its legacy of consistency. Canon, a stalwart of the intellectual property world, has remained a fixture in the top tier. Historical data notes that as of the 2024 rankings released in early 2025, Canon had placed in the top 10 for 41 consecutive years and ranked first among Japanese companies for 20 years running. In the broader Global 250 ranking analyzed in mid-2025, Japan notched the highest number of companies on the list, with Panasonic and Canon leading the charge.
The picture is different for US legacy tech. IBM's exit from the top 10 is the most symbolic shift, reflecting a deliberate move away from volume patenting toward a focus on "high-value" IP and open innovation in areas like hybrid cloud and AI. This mirrors a broader trend where quantity is no longer the sole metric of corporate innovation health.
The 9% drop in applications has triggered a debate among experts regarding the root cause. Is this a temporary economic contraction, or a permanent change in legal strategy?
"It's very interesting to see patent applications take such a dive after a long climb upward... We will be watching the data to see if a trend develops. Right now, we're wondering if other companies are quietly adopting patent strategies similar to the one IBM announced a few years ago. Are R&D departments relying more on trade secrets to protect IP? Or is it a lingering impact from COVID?" - Lily Iacurci, Marketing Manager, IFI CLAIMS Patent Services
The "trade secret" hypothesis is gaining traction. In rapidly evolving fields like artificial intelligence and software, the 18-month publication delay inherent in the patent process can be a liability. Furthermore, disclosing the "secret sauce" in a patent application allows competitors to study the innovation. By contrast, trade secrets keep the methodology hidden indefinitely, provided the company can secure its internal data.
The US patent data cannot be viewed in isolation. While domestic applications struggle, Asian entities are solidifying their global dominance. The IFI Global 250 ranking from August 2025 highlighted that Chinese entities commanded seven of the top 10 positions in terms of active patent families. This divergence-shrinking US filings versus robust Asian portfolios-raises significant questions for Western policymakers.
For the business sector, the data suggests a period of cost-cutting and portfolio pruning. Maintaining a global patent family is expensive; in a high-interest-rate environment, CFOs may be scrutinizing IP budgets more closely, authorizing filings only for core technologies while letting peripheral innovations go unprotected or remain as trade secrets.
From a policy perspective, the decline in applications serves as a warning light. If the US patent system is viewed as too slow, expensive, or uncertain, innovators may bypass it. This reduces the public knowledge base, as patents are effectively a contract: a monopoly is granted in exchange for public disclosure. A shift to trade secrets makes the technological landscape more opaque, potentially slowing the overall rate of cross-industry innovation.
Analysts will be closely monitoring quarterly filings throughout 2026 to see if the 9% drop was a one-time correction or the start of a secular decline. The 2025 S&P 100 trends report from IFI Claims indicated that the most valuable US corporations are already adjusting their IP strategies. If the trend holds, the patent office may see a sustained reduction in volume, forcing a re-evaluation of how innovation is measured in the 21st century. As companies like Samsung and Canon continue to file aggressively, the disparity between Eastern and Western IP strategies may continue to widen.
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