Today’s innovators deliver new technologies at an ever-increasing pace, and IEEE is by far the most-cited publisher in patents. 

IEEE leads patent citations

The 2025 report by 1790 Analytics LLC examined patents filed with the U.S. Patent Office between 2005–2024 by the year's 50 top-patenting organizations. The report revealed that IEEE journals and conference proceedings received over 660,000 patent citations—2.5 times more than the number of citations of any other publisher.

Top 20 Publishers Referenced Most Frequently by Top 50 Patenting Organizations

Source: 1790 Analytics LLC, Copyright 2025.

2025 citation study highlights

The current 1790 Analytics LLC study shows that:

  • IEEE journals and conference proceedings received 2.5 times more than the number of citations as any other publisher.
  • Referencing of IEEE papers in patents has increased 890% since 1997.
  • AI and ML-related patenting has increased tenfold over the past 10 years. IEEE publications have kept pace with this surge as 30% of AI-related patent references are to IEEE, 3X more than any other publisher.
  • Patents that reference IEEE are cited more often than patents that do not.
  • In the overall patent database, patented technologies are increasingly referencing scientific articles and IEEE provides an increasing portion of that science base.
  • Not only do IEEE publications frequently provide the science base for new inventions, but inventions that build upon IEEE publications are more likely to be valuable in the future than inventions that do not.
  • When analyzing patents by discipline, IEEE is the #1 most referenced publisher in AI, Blockchain, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Cybersecurity, IoT, Power Systems, Semiconductors, Renewable Energy (Wind & Solar), Telecom and more.

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In its annual study of patent references, 1790 Analytics LLC reveals a wealth of data that places IEEE as the number-one most-cited publisher by technical researchers, as well as a leading source of information and research that is used by industries not central to the IEEE mission.