Technology Topic
Wireless and 5G Patent Classification
Wireless networking has classified in H04W since 2009, when the IPC split it out of the general transmission subclasses. Handover, scheduling, network architecture: the building blocks of 4G and 5G standards live here, which makes H04W one of the highest-volume subclasses in the classification.
The physical transmission layer, antennas aside, sits in H04B: modulation, MIMO, signal processing over radio channels.
The classification codes that matter
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
Wireless communication networks: the home of 4G/5G network patents since 2009.
2018 → 2023: 100,798 → 101,506 filings (+1 %)
TRANSMISSION
Transmission: the physical layer of radio communication, from modulation to MIMO.
2018 → 2023: 42,446 → 39,968 filings (-6 %)
Who files here: top applicants
- 1 HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY (CN) 151,851
- 2 QUALCOMM (US) 97,396
- 3 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (KR) 86,981
- 4 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) (SE) 55,869
- 5 LG ELECTRONICS (KR) 53,649
IPC filings 2013–2023, aggregated across the codes above. Source: EPO PATSTAT.
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