Patents
US patents through Dec 31, 2025 · PatentsView, from the USPTO’s Open Data Portal · read Oct 27, 2026
6,669 patents granted to the 11 names below, as the owner printed on each patent when it was granted. A later sale, a lapse or an expiry is not read, so this is what was granted to Western Digital Corporation’s names, not what it holds today.
Patents granted
6,669
6,621 utility, 48 design, 1976 to Dec 31, 2025
Granted in 2025
175
Against 360 in 2024 and 519 in 2023
Applications published
4,510
407 of them in 2025
Names they are printed under
11
a subsidiary, its own name
By yearGrantedApplications published
'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Each pair is one calendar year. Applications are published about eighteen months after filing, so the newest years read low.
What they are aboutgrants since 2021
Computer technology1,169
Audio-visual technology545
Semiconductors122
Digital communication69
Basic communication processes51
Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy31
Measurement30
Basic materials chemistry7
Analysis of biological materials5
Optics4
Machine tools3
Surface technology, coating3
The main technology area of each patent, in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 35 fields.
Under which name11 counted
WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. a subsidiary
US, as the owner printed on each patent
1,539 publishedWestern Digital Technologies, Inc. a subsidiary
named as the applicant on its applications, in US. 2 more under the same name are not counted (printed in JP, printed in CA)
2,256 publishedHGST Netherlands, B.V. a subsidiary
NL, as the owner printed on each patent. 3 more under the same name are not counted (printed in US)
361 publishedHGST Netherlands B.V. a subsidiary
named as the applicant on its applications, in NL. 1 more under the same name are not counted (printed in US)
318 publishedWestern Digital its own name
US, as the owner printed on each patent
0 publishedVIRIDENT SYSTEMS, LLC a subsidiary
US, as the owner printed on each patent
20 publishedKeen Personal Media, Inc. a subsidiary
US, as the owner printed on each patent
0 publishedVirident Systems Inc. a subsidiary
named as the applicant on its applications, in US
15 publishedWestern Digital (Singapore) Pty, Ltd. a subsidiary
SG, as the owner printed on each patent
0 publishedHGST Netherlands N.V. a subsidiary
NL, as the owner printed on each patent
0 publishedWestern Digital Corporation its own name
named as the applicant on its applications, in US
1 published
Newest grantseach row opens the USPTO’s own copy
| Granted | Patent | Title | Field | Owner as printed |
|---|
| Dec 30, 2025 | 12,512,122 | Data storage device with servo burst signal correction for mitigating effects of servo pattern distortion | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 23, 2025 | 12,506,321 | Vertical cavity surface emitting laser and head gimbal assembly | Optics | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 23, 2025 | 12,505,856 | Highly textured buffer layer to grow YBiPt (110) for spintronic applications | Semiconductors | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 9, 2025 | 12,493,421 | System and method for flexible emergency power fail management for multiple persistent memory regions | Computer technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 12,488,854 | Data storage device and method for host-managed data integrity | Computer technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 12,487,296 | Spin orbit torque based thermal sensor for insitu monitoring of magnetic recording head | Measurement | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 2, 2025 | 12,487,229 | Devices, systems, and methods of using smart fluids to control molecule speeds | Analysis of biological materials | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Nov 25, 2025 | 12,482,588 | Nitrogen doped oxides for lower bandgap | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Nov 18, 2025 | 12,475,921 | Hard disk drive voice coil motor actuator with low-density wire coil and high-density coil stiffener | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Nov 18, 2025 | 12,475,365 | Embedded multi-attribute machine learning for storage devices | Computer technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
Newest applications publishedan application is a clue, never a plan
| Published | Application | Title | Field | Owner as printed |
|---|
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391513 | Reference Marks Storing Embedded Oligo Index in DNA Data Storage | Computer technology | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391507 | Embedded Reference Marks for Correcting Errors in DNA Data Storage | Computer technology | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391506 | DNA Sequencing Using Viterbi-Like Correlation Analysis | Computer technology | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391435 | INTERFACE VOLTAGE CONTROL FOR SLIDER IN DATA STORAGE DEVICE | Audio-visual technology | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391433 | Read Head with Multiple Contacts Formed Underneath the Sensor | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391432 | Read Sensor With a Layer Having an Adjustable Etching Rate | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391431 | Notched Head Design For Tape Applications | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391430 | Dual Free Layer TMR Reader with Shaped Rear Bias and Methods of Forming Thereof | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0391427 | Shield Designs for Two Dimensional Magnetic Recording Read Heads | Audio-visual technology | WESTERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. |
| Dec 25, 2025 | 2025/0390426 | Delayed Parity Write for Redundant Storage Across Namespaces in Data Storage Devices | Computer technology | Western Digital Technologies, Inc. |
What it applied for, 2024 to 2025: Computer technology 536 · Audio-visual technology 198 · Semiconductors 121 · Basic communication processes 13 · Digital communication 12 · Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy 11.
A patent is counted where the owner printed on it when it was granted carries the company’s own name, a former name, the name of a subsidiary its annual report lists, or its own name with a patent-holding phrase (Technology Licensing, Intellectual Property and the like), once the legal form, case and punctuation are set aside, and prints a country that name counts in. PatentsView’s data are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Source: PatentsView's granted patents and pre-grant publications, disambiguated, from the USPTO's Open Data Portal, through Dec 31, 2025, read Oct 27, 2026.