- International families
- 50k2015 to 2024
- Leading country
- United States1.6× the next
- All families
- 125khome filings included
- Over five years
- Steady2020 to 2024 against the five before
Year by year
Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.
Volume
International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.
Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google
Share by country
Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.
Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google
Country leaderboard
International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.
Ten largest
United States
Japan
China
South Korea
Germany
Taiwan
France
United Kingdom
Finland
Israel
14,516
9,319
7,249
6,474
2,639
1,970
1,517
1,062
637
567
| 2000 to 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 14,516 | 28.9% | 1.0× | 27,334 | |
| 2 | Japan | 9,319 | 18.5% | 0.7× | 11,466 | |
| 3 | China | 7,249 | 14.4% | 1.4× | 49,477 | |
| 4 | South Korea | 6,474 | 12.9% | 1.1× | 18,853 | |
| 5 | Germany | 2,639 | 5.2% | 1.0× | 4,356 | |
| 6 | Taiwan | 1,970 | 3.9% | 1.1× | 2,608 | |
| 7 | France | 1,517 | 3.0% | 1.0× | 1,979 | |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 1,062 | 2.1% | 1.0× | 1,421 | |
| 9 | Finland | 637 | 1.3% | 0.8× | 785 | |
| 10 | Israel | 567 | 1.1% | 0.9× | 748 | |
| 11 | Sweden | 486 | 1.0% | 1.1× | 554 | |
| 12 | Canada | 470 | 0.9% | 0.9× | 814 | |
| 13 | Switzerland | 438 | 0.9% | 1.3× | 569 | |
| 14 | Netherlands | 403 | 0.8% | 0.9× | 445 | |
| 15 | Singapore | 309 | 0.6% | 0.9× | 507 | |
| 16 | Australia | 277 | 0.6% | 1.0× | 345 | |
| 17 | Italy | 239 | 0.5% | 1.2× | 384 | |
| 18 | India | 222 | 0.4% | 0.8× | 344 | |
| 19 | Austria | 191 | 0.4% | 1.4× | 203 | |
| 20 | Türkiye | 132 | 0.3% | 0.7× | 161 | |
| 21 | Cayman Islands | 108 | 0.2% | 0.6× | 123 | |
| 22 | Spain | 107 | 0.2% | 1.3× | 133 | |
| 23 | Belgium | 102 | 0.2% | 0.9× | 108 | |
| 24 | Luxembourg | 79 | 0.2% | 0.5× | 89 | |
| 25 | Denmark | 76 | 0.2% | 0.8× | 112 | |
| 26 | Ireland | 76 | 0.2% | 0.8× | 111 | |
| 27 | Hong Kong | 68 | 0.1% | 0.5× | 116 | |
| 28 | Russia | 66 | 0.1% | 0.7× | 120 | |
| 29 | Norway | 46 | 0.1% | 0.8× | 57 | |
| 30 | New Zealand | 43 | 0.1% | 1.0× | 51 | |
| 31 | Portugal | 40 | 0.1% | 1.0× | 49 | |
| 32 | Brazil | 26 | 0.1% | 0.3× | 72 | |
| 33 | Poland | 25 | 0.0% | 2.1× | 52 | |
| 34 | Saudi Arabia | 18 | 0.0% | 0.8× | 44 | |
| 35 | Hungary | 17 | 0.0% | 0.5× | 26 | |
| 36 | Liechtenstein | 16 | 0.0% | 0.8× | 16 | |
| 37 | Mexico | 14 | 0.0% | 0.4× | 24 | |
| 38 | Malaysia | 10 | 0.0% | 0.7× | 12 | |
| 39 | South Africa | 8 | 0.0% | 0.1× | 9 | |
| 40 | Czechia | 6 | 0.0% | 5.0× | 8 |
Applicants
The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Human-Machine Interfaces. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.
Global
50,295 international families
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD · South Korea
APPLE INC · United States
META PLATFORMS TECH LLC · United States
MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC · United States
SONY CORP · Japan
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD · China
2,732
1,534
1,134
1,126
920
821
United States
14,516 international families
APPLE INC
META PLATFORMS TECH LLC
MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
GOOGLE LLC
SNAP INC
FACEBOOK TECH LLC
1,524
1,134
1,117
785
677
672
Japan
9,319 international families
SONY CORP
SONY GROUP CORP
SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC
CANON KK
SEIKO EPSON CORP
NIPPON SEIKI CO LTD
913
745
663
624
561
373
China
7,249 international families
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD
HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
BEIJING ZITIAO NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
TENCENT TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD
GOERTEK INC
BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECH CO LTD
821
720
345
261
231
207
South Korea
6,474 international families
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
LG ELECTRONICS INC
SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO LTD
HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD
KIA MOTORS CORP
LG DISPLAY CO LTD
2,727
605
430
281
182
182
Germany
2,639 international families
BOSCH GMBH ROBERT
BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG
VOLKSWAGEN AG
AUDI AG
CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
SIEMENS AG
275
211
174
168
97
88
Similar capabilities
The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with Human-Machine Interfaces, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.
Information & Influence
Creative Industries & Cultural Export Reach
5.7% shared · 4,525 families in both
Japan
United States
China
South Korea
Taiwan
9,492
7,019
6,834
3,079
1,031
Critical Technology
Applied AI & Advanced Analytics
4.3% shared · 10,655 families in both
United States
China
Japan
South Korea
Germany
52,577
44,684
37,272
22,879
11,142
Strategic Infrastructure
AI Tools & Applications
4.0% shared · 10,827 families in both
United States
China
Japan
South Korea
Germany
59,104
48,655
39,220
27,537
12,086
Governance & Integrity
Policing & Law Enforcement
4.0% shared · 4,140 families in both
Japan
China
United States
South Korea
Germany
13,305
11,355
11,063
6,119
3,107
Information & Influence
International Media & Broadcasting
2.6% shared · 2,368 families in both
China
United States
Japan
South Korea
France
11,427
11,259
6,437
6,383
1,042
Strategic Infrastructure
Education & Skills Infrastructure
2.5% shared · 1,563 families in both
United States
Japan
China
South Korea
Germany
3,247
2,198
1,763
1,499
503
Human Capital
Service Delivery & Coverage
2.4% shared · 7,180 families in both
United States
Japan
China
South Korea
Germany
84,023
38,520
26,886
18,896
17,937
Critical Technology
Advanced Optical Communication & Photonics
2.2% shared · 2,106 families in both
Japan
United States
China
Germany
South Korea
13,338
11,398
9,204
2,973
2,316
Critical Technology
Advanced Robotics
2.1% shared · 1,940 families in both
Japan
United States
China
South Korea
Germany
11,556
8,601
5,924
4,273
3,892
Crosswalk
How Human-Machine Interfaces is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 71 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.
| Entry | Title in the scheme | Why it is chosen | CPC codes | IPC codes | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G06F3/011 | Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality | Body interaction for virtual reality: head, eye, hand, brain signals | 5 | 3 | 299,314 |
| G06F3/016 | Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user | Haptic and force feedback | 1 | none | 74,287 |
| G06F3/017 | Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures | Gesture-based interaction | 1 | none | 114,148 |
| G02B27/01 | Head-up displays | Head-up and head-mounted displays | 55 | 2 | 630,029 |
| G06T19/006 | Mixed reality | Mixed and augmented reality | 1 | 1 | 101,761 |
| A61N1/0529 | Electrodes for brain stimulation | Electrodes for brain stimulation | 5 | none | 22,029 |
| A61B5/375 | Electroencephalography [EEG] using biofeedback | Brain-wave biofeedback | 1 | 1 | 4,444 |
| A61F2/72 | Bioelectric control, e.g. myoelectric | Nerve and muscle signal control of prostheses | 1 | 1 | 4,699 |
| B25J9/0006 | Exoskeletons, i.e. resembling a human figure | Exoskeletons | 1 | none | 15,334 |
CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.
The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Human-Machine Interfaces: 71 codes on 1,266,045 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.
| Code | Title | Under entry | How placed | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G06F3/011 | Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality | G06F3/011 | In the scheme | 141,631 |
| G06F3/017 | Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures | G06F3/017 | In the scheme | 114,148 |
| G06T19/006 | Mixed reality | G06T19/006 | In the scheme | 101,761 |
| G02B27/0172 | Head mounted characterised by optical features | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 89,579 |
| G06F3/013 | Eye tracking input arrangements | G06F3/011 | In the scheme | 74,872 |
| G06F3/016 | Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user | G06F3/016 | In the scheme | 74,287 |
| G02B27/017 | Head mounted | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 60,378 |
| G02B2027/0178 | Eyeglass type | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 55,720 |
| G02B27/0101 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 46,041 |
| G02B2027/014 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising information/image processing systems | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 44,028 |
| G06F3/012 | Head tracking input arrangements | G06F3/011 | In the scheme | 43,589 |
| G02B2027/0138 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 40,375 |
| G02B27/01 | Head-up displays | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 30,552 |
| G02B2027/0187 | Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 28,023 |
| G02B27/0176 | Head mounted characterised by mechanical features | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 25,003 |
| G06F3/014 | Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves | G06F3/011 | In the scheme | 19,914 |
| G06F3/015 | Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection | G06F3/011 | In the scheme | 19,308 |
| G02B2027/0118 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 17,403 |
| B25J9/0006 | Exoskeletons, i.e. resembling a human figure | B25J9/0006 | In the scheme | 15,334 |
| G02B27/0179 | Display position adjusting means not related to the information to be displayed | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 12,980 |
| G02B2027/0123 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising devices increasing the field of view | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 12,972 |
| G02B2027/0174 | Head mounted characterised by optical features holographic | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 11,415 |
| G02B2027/0141 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features characterised by the informative content of the display | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 11,163 |
| G02B2027/0134 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising binocular systems of stereoscopic type | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 10,761 |
| G02B2027/011 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising device for correcting geometrical aberrations, distortion | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 9,677 |
| A61N1/0534 | Electrodes for deep brain stimulation | A61N1/0529 | In the scheme | 9,419 |
| G02B27/0149 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 9,058 |
| G02B27/0103 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising holographic elements | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 7,782 |
| G02B2027/0154 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features with movable elements | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 7,674 |
| G02B2027/0125 | Field-of-view increase by wavefront division | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 7,625 |
| G02B2027/0112 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising device for genereting colour display | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 6,622 |
| G02B2027/0132 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising binocular systems | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 6,388 |
| A61N1/0529 | Electrodes for brain stimulation | A61N1/0529 | In the scheme | 6,203 |
| G02B2027/012 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility comprising devices for attenuating parasitic image effects | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 5,899 |
| G02B2027/0127 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising devices increasing the depth of field | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 5,600 |
| G02B2027/0185 | Displaying image at variable distance | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 5,389 |
| A61F2/72 | Bioelectric control, e.g. myoelectric | A61F2/72 | In the scheme | 4,699 |
| G02B2027/0181 | Adaptation to the pilot/driver | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 4,546 |
| A61B5/375 | Electroencephalography [EEG] using biofeedback | A61B5/375 | In the scheme | 4,444 |
| G02B2027/013 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising a combiner of particular shape, e.g. curvature | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 4,400 |
| G02B2027/015 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features involving arrangement aiming to get less bulky devices | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 3,973 |
| G02B2027/0194 | Supplementary details with combiner of laminated type, for optical or mechanical aspects | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 3,623 |
| G02B2027/0156 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features with movable elements with optionally usable elements | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 3,535 |
| G02B2027/0159 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features with movable elements with mechanical means other than scaning means for positioning the whole image | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 3,408 |
| A61N1/0531 | Brain cortex electrodes | A61N1/0529 | In the scheme | 3,402 |
| G02B2027/0147 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising a device modifying the resolution of the displayed image | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 3,128 |
| G02B2027/0183 | Adaptation to parameters characterising the motion of the vehicle | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,857 |
| G02B2027/0116 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising device for genereting colour display comprising devices for correcting chromatic aberration | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,774 |
| A61N1/0539 | Anchoring of brain electrode systems, e.g. within burr hole | A61N1/0529 | In the scheme | 2,342 |
| G02B2027/0196 | Supplementary details having transparent supporting structure for display mounting, e.g. to a window or a windshield | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,202 |
| G02B2027/0145 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features creating an intermediate image | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,198 |
| G02B2027/0169 | Supporting or connecting means other than the external walls | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,176 |
| G02B2027/0198 | System for aligning or maintaining alignment of an image in a predetermined direction | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,092 |
| G02B2027/0161 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features characterised by the relative positioning of the constitutive elements | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 2,076 |
| G02B2027/0114 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising device for genereting colour display comprising dichroic elements | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,950 |
| G02B2027/0109 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising holographic elements comprising details concerning the making of holograms | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,917 |
| G02B2027/0105 | Holograms with particular structures | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,860 |
| G02B2027/0136 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising binocular systems with a single image source for both eyes | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,593 |
| G02B2027/0163 | Electric or electronic control thereof | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,582 |
| G02B2027/0152 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features involving arrangement aiming to get lighter or better balanced devices | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,581 |
| G02B2027/0107 | Holograms with particular structures with optical power | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,302 |
| G02B2027/0129 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features comprising devices for correcting parallax | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,211 |
| G02B2027/0165 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features associated with a head-down display | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,085 |
| G02B2027/0121 | Parasitic image effect attenuation by suitable positioning of the parasitic images | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 1,027 |
| G02B27/0189 | Sight systems | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 987 |
| G02B2027/0143 | Head-up displays characterised by optical features the two eyes not being equipped with identical nor symmetrical optical devices | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 840 |
| G02B2027/0167 | Emergency system, e.g. to prevent injuries | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 716 |
| G02B2027/0192 | Supplementary details | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 711 |
| A61N1/0536 | Preventing neurodegenerative response or inflammatory reaction | A61N1/0529 | In the scheme | 663 |
| G02B2027/0158 | Head-up displays characterised by mechanical features with movable elements with adjustable nose pad | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 518 |
| G02B2027/019 | Sight systems comprising reticules formed by a mask | G02B27/01 | In the scheme | 54 |