Patent analysis for non-volatile memories

Since the early 1990's, the field of emerging Non-Volatile Memories (eNVM) has filed many patents, with a significant increase during the past decade. The report separates these eNVM patents into four categories: Ferroelectric RAMs (FeRAMs), Magnetoresistive RAMs (MRAMs), Resistive-change RAMs (ReRAMs) or Phase-Change Random-Access Memories (PCRAMs). For each memory type, the report provides a detailed analysis including the time evolution of patent filings, identification of the key players, collaborations networks, as well as the identification of the key patents based-on citations and impacts in eNVM technology.

Accounting for over 40% of total filings, patents related to MRAM technology currently total about 200 per year. Toshiba, Samsung and Renesas Electronics are the main patent applicants, representing 30% between them. According to the report, patents related to PCRAM technology represent around 30% of the total. They were mainly filed by SK Hynix and Samsung, representing almost 40% of published patents. Despite decreasing this decade, more than 200 PCRAM technology patents are still published every year.

SK Hynix, Samsung and Seiko Epson publish almost half of all patents dedicated to FeRAM technology. A mature technology, FeRAM is not yet an active patent field and currently accounts for just 20% of total filings. ReRAM technology is the newest patented technology. Currently accounting for less than 10% of new patent filings, the report forecasts that the number of related patent publications will continue to increase in the coming years. With over 100 patent families already filed, Samsung will play a significant role in this emerging technology development.

KnowMade’s report provides a ranking and analysis of the relative strength of the top eNVM patent holders based on their portfolio size and patent citations networks. With this, 10 major players have been identified and profiled in the report. Each profile includes a detailed portfolio analysis with the time evolution of patent filing, key patents, memory types, litigations, licensing, partnerships and strategy.

The "Emerging Non-Volatile Memories: patent landscape” report also includes an excel database with all analysed patents. This allows multi-criteria searches and includes patent publication number, hyperlinks to the original documents, priority date, title, abstract, applicants, technological segments and legal status for each member of the patent family.

According to Dr. Audrey Bastard: “Currently, there are more than 8,600 relevant patent families filed all over the world. Patent families were filed by more than 800 patent applicants mainly located in USA, Japan, Taiwan and China. From a quantitative point of view, the most active companies are SK Hynix, Samsung, Toshiba, Micron Technology and IBM. In addition, startup firms do not file many patents and their main strategy is to license or sell their intellectual property”,