Expiring Within 1 Year
Patents expiring in the next 12 months. These technologies are about to enter the public domain.
Companies With Most Expiring Patents
| Company | Expiring | Total Patents | % Expiring | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | 4 | 42 | 9.5% | D |
| HP | 4 | 50 | 8.0% | D |
| Stryker | 4 | 40 | 10.0% | D |
| Apple | 3 | 95 | 3.2% | C |
| Sony | 3 | 80 | 3.8% | D |
| Siemens | 3 | 75 | 4.0% | D |
| Panasonic | 3 | 70 | 4.3% | D |
| Nokia | 3 | 55 | 5.5% | D |
| Honeywell | 3 | 55 | 5.5% | D |
| Merck | 3 | 48 | 6.3% | D |
| Dow | 3 | 55 | 5.5% | D |
| Honda | 3 | 50 | 6.0% | D |
| Intel | 2 | 80 | 2.5% | D |
| TSMC | 2 | 70 | 2.9% | D |
| Cisco | 2 | 55 | 3.6% | D |
| Ericsson | 2 | 60 | 3.3% | D |
| AMD | 2 | 45 | 4.4% | D |
| Pfizer | 2 | 50 | 4.0% | D |
| Eli Lilly | 2 | 45 | 4.4% | D |
| Amgen | 2 | 40 | 5.0% | D |
| Regeneron | 2 | 38 | 5.3% | D |
| Novartis | 2 | 55 | 3.6% | D |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | 48 | 4.2% | D |
| Ford | 2 | 50 | 4.0% | D |
| Meta | 2 | 65 | 3.1% | D |
| Illinois Tool Works | 2 | 35 | 5.7% | D |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | 45 | 4.4% | D |
| PayPal | 2 | 35 | 5.7% | D |
| Stripe | 2 | 20 | 10.0% | F |
| Agilent | 2 | 35 | 5.7% | D |
| Samsung | 1 | 130 | 0.8% | C |
| Canon | 1 | 90 | 1.1% | C |
| Microsoft | 1 | 100 | 1.0% | C |
| LG | 1 | 85 | 1.2% | D |
| 1 | 110 | 0.9% | C | |
| Amazon | 1 | 90 | 1.1% | C |
| Huawei | 1 | 120 | 0.8% | C |
| General Electric | 1 | 85 | 1.2% | C |
| Philips | 1 | 65 | 1.5% | D |
| Oracle | 1 | 50 | 2.0% | D |
| Broadcom | 1 | 65 | 1.5% | D |
| Texas Instruments | 1 | 60 | 1.7% | D |
| 3M | 1 | 65 | 1.5% | D |
| Raytheon | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Lockheed Martin | 1 | 50 | 2.0% | D |
| Nvidia | 1 | 70 | 1.4% | D |
| Applied Materials | 1 | 50 | 2.0% | D |
| Abbott | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Sanofi | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Bayer | 1 | 50 | 2.0% | D |
| BASF | 1 | 65 | 1.5% | D |
| DuPont | 1 | 50 | 2.0% | D |
| BMW | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| 1 | 60 | 1.7% | D | |
| Uber | 1 | 30 | 3.3% | D |
| Salesforce | 1 | 35 | 2.9% | D |
| Adobe | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Deere | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Emerson | 1 | 35 | 2.9% | D |
| Parker Hannifin | 1 | 30 | 3.3% | D |
| Northrop Grumman | 1 | 40 | 2.5% | D |
| BAE Systems | 1 | 35 | 2.9% | D |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | 35 | 2.9% | D |
| Mastercard | 1 | 28 | 3.6% | D |
| Square | 1 | 25 | 4.0% | D |
| Roper Technologies | 1 | 25 | 4.0% | D |
| Thermo Fisher | 1 | 45 | 2.2% | D |
| Waters | 1 | 25 | 4.0% | D |
| Becton Dickinson | 1 | 30 | 3.3% | D |
What Patent Expirations Mean for Markets
Patent expirations create both risk and opportunity. For patent holders, expirations mean losing exclusive rights to key technologies. For competitors, they represent opportunities to enter markets previously blocked by IP protection. In pharmaceuticals, patent cliffs enable generic competition that benefits consumers. In technology, they allow broader innovation on foundational techniques. Understanding the expiration timeline helps investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers plan strategically.
Frequently Asked Questions
114 patents across 69 companies are set to expire within the next 1 year. When patents expire, the underlying technology enters the public domain and can be used freely.
When a patent expires, anyone can use, manufacture, or sell products based on that technology without paying licensing fees. For pharmaceutical patents, this enables generic competition that typically reduces drug prices by 80-90%. For technology patents, it opens up innovation opportunities.
Bristol-Myers Squibb leads with 4 expiring patents, followed by HP and Stryker.
/methodology
Source: USPTO patent search, 2026.