Which are the most significant patents?

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Cookies Settings

Which are the most significant patents?

We want to know which patents readers think have been the most important: send us your suggestions online, by email or on social media

Nominations can be in any technological field, and from any jurisdiction. Note that we are not necessarily looking for the most significant inventions, but for the most significant patents. 

Reasons for nomination could include:

  • The patent protected the sales of a particularly valuable product (such as a blockbuster drug).

  • The patent was widely licensed, enabling many different products and earning significant royalties.

  • The patent was successfully enforced in court and/or ADR (leading, for example, to remedies such as large damages).

  • The patent was widely cited and influential on later developments in the field.

You can nominate any number of patents, and they can be active or expired. Where possible, please provide a few sentences explaining why you have nominated each patent.

You can make nominations in the following ways:

We will make a final selection of the most significant patents from the nominations received, and will publish an analysis of each one in a future issue.



more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

New Asia-Pacific IP head Jonathan Chu is eyeing opportunities arising from Chinese technology licensing, overseas enforcement and increasingly IP-heavy cross-border deals
Europe’s largest intellectual property convention and trade fair is back: IP Service World 2026 takes place in Munich from November 23–25 – the 16th edition, with 1,400-plus attendees from 55-plus nations, 100-plus speakers, and 100-plus exhibitors. Three days. Two focused areas. One IP marketplace.
Mehmet Gün and Uğur Aktekin discuss four decades of change in Türkiye’s legal market, the firm’s commitment to independence and the challenge of building an institution that can outlast its founders
Boehringer Ingelheim has instructed a team from Kirkland, while Teva is being represented by Pinsent Masons
The Delhi High Court’s latest directions offer an opportunity to move beyond remedies against bad-faith registrations and address how suspicious applications are identified in the first place, says Fatima Baig at Lexlinc
Camilla Hamrin describes how the acquisition by Acapo Onsagers will impact Bergenstråhle’s trademark practice – and reflects on changes she has seen over 30 years in IP
On a recent trip to the French capital, we learned that the UPC is squeezing domestic litigation while firms are chasing senior talent, experimenting with AI and considering new ways of organising their practices
Daniel Law says a string of lateral hires and broader expansion plans will strengthen its position to capitalise on Brazil’s burgeoning IP and patent litigation market
Jason Raeburn’s arrival will expand the firm’s London footprint in AI, copyright and tech disputes
The firm is shaping its AI strategy around partnerships with Harvey and Legora alongside internally developed tools from its legal technology company, Eltemate
Gift this article