Recent Apple patent activity

[leman]

I've noticed that in the last month Apple's patent activity has gone down considerably. Patentscope used to publish over a hundred Apple patents every week, now there are two dozens at most. I wonder whether this reflects a change in policy, a change in publication schedule, or whether there might be some other reason?

Would appreciate commentary from folks here familiar with patent machinery, such as @Cmaier

 

[Cmaier]

I've noticed that in the last month Apple's patent activity has gone down considerably. Patentscope used to publish over a hundred Apple patents every week, now there are two dozens at most. I wonder whether this reflects a change in policy, a change in publication schedule, or whether there might be some other reason?

Would appreciate commentary from folks here familiar with patent machinery, such as @Cmaier

I haven’t checked that statistic using other sources, but assuming it’s true it’s hard to know what it means. Patent applications only publish about 18 months after filing, and you can request that they never be published (until they are issued) if you aren’t also filing foreign applications using them as priority.

I doubt they have significantly changed their policy. Their habit is to apply for a patent on every idea they have, so competitors can’t figure out which ones are being seriously considered. Secrecy is so engrained in Apple’s culture that I doubt they would change their behavior.

 

[Nycturne]

Their habit is to apply for a patent on every idea they have, so competitors can’t figure out which ones are being seriously considered.

And when it isn't done for misdirection, it's still done to make it harder for competitors, or to add assets that can be part of sharing agreements/etc. Although I'll admit, I haven't had managers pestering me about patent applications lately with all the focus on AI.

 

[Jimmyjames]

I had a quick glance, so take it with a pinch of salt, but it seems like in the last 8 or 9 days of April there was ~70 patents. Seems a reasonable amount no?

 

[leman]

I had a quick glance, so take it with a pinch of salt, but it seems like in the last 8 or 9 days of April there was ~70 patents. Seems a reasonable amount no?

I've been scanning the weekly patent dump for a while now. After the 15 of April, the number of patents has went down considerably. It used to be 500-600 per month, but the last couple of weeks we only got 50-60 per week. There has been a considerable patent dump in march though, so maybe there was a shift in timing.

At any rate, I just thought that this was an interesting detail, especially in the light of tariffs and other systemic struggles. Let's see if the patent activity resumes in the coming weeks.

 

[Jimmyjames]

I've been scanning the weekly patent dump for a while now. After the 15 of April, the number of patents has went down considerably. It used to be 500-600 per month, but the last couple of weeks we only got 50-60 per week. There has been a considerable patent dump in march though, so maybe there was a shift in timing.

At any rate, I just thought that this was an interesting detail, especially in the light of tariffs and other systemic struggles. Let's see if the patent activity resumes in the coming weeks.

Hmmm. I’m sure you’re correct. Perhaps there has been some restructuring within Apple which temporarily reduced patent filing? When did the car get cancelled? Early 2024 I think. Just guessing.