Updated every week from the US Patent Office · RSS feed
Big Tech Patent Tracker
What Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and nine more are inventing, from every new US patent filing, explained in plain English.
- Filings tracked
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- This week
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- Companies
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- Last update
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This week's standouts
Companies
Tap to filter · ☆ to follow · line = last 12 weeksExplore every filing
Who is inventing what
Most filings
Company × topic
Darker = more filings. Click a square to see those filings.
A patent is not a product
Companies patent far more ideas than they ever sell. A filing shows what a company is exploring and wants to protect, not what is coming next year.
Application or granted?
Applications are published about 18 months after filing, before anyone has checked them. Granted patents passed review and are enforceable for up to 20 years from filing.
How the summaries work
Each filing's own abstract and first claim are rewritten in everyday words. They are simplified, so for anything important open the original filing from the details panel.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.
How to use the Big Tech Patent Tracker
- Start with this week's standouts at the top.
- Tap a company to see only its filings, or ☆ to follow it.
- Search any word, or filter by topic, type and time range.
- Open a filing for the plain-English summary, the original text and links to the official documents.
Questions
Where does this data come from?
From the US Patent and Trademark Office, which publishes new patent applications every Thursday and newly granted patents every Tuesday. This page collects the filings from a list of large technology companies each week.
Does a patent mean the product is coming?
No. Companies patent many more ideas than they ever sell. A filing shows what a company is working on or wants to protect, not a release plan.
What is the difference between an application and a granted patent?
An application is published about 18 months after it was filed, before an examiner has approved it. A granted patent has passed review and can be enforced for up to 20 years from the filing date.
How accurate are the plain-English summaries?
They are simplified from the filing's own abstract and first claim. For anything important, open the official document linked from each filing.
Which companies are included?
Apple, Google (with DeepMind and Waymo), Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, OpenAI, Samsung, Sony, Netflix, Disney, Nike and SpaceX. Ask on the Discord if you want another one added.
Still stuck, or want a tool that isn't here? Ask on the Nebula Discord.