SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France – April 27th, 2026 │ KnowMade is pleased to announce the latest update of its RF Front-End Modules & Components Patent Monitor, now powered by an interactive dashboard designed to make patent intelligence more visual, more dynamic and more actionable. Through redesigned key patent indicators, segment tracking, assignee rankings, geographical analysis and direct patent-level drill-down, the new dashboard enables users to move faster from high-level market signals to concrete IP evidence.
Global RF Front-End Modules & Components IP Activity in Q1 2026
In Q1 2026, the RF front-end patent landscape remained highly dynamic, with 621 newly published patent families, 536 newly granted patent families, and 32 patent families with newly dead patents. New patent activity remained largely concentrated in the hands of established players, which accounted for 537 new patent families, or 86.5% of the quarter’s publication output, while 84 new families are held by new entrants. The IP landscape nevertheless remained highly fragmented, with 240 active patent applicants in newly published patents, including 165 assignees, or nearly 69%, that published only one patent family during the quarter. From a geographical standpoint, China continued to dominate by a wide margin, with 449 new patent families including at least one Chinese member, far ahead of the United States with 110, confirming once again the central role of China in current RF front-end innovation momentum.
Technical Segment Trends
At segment level, power amplifiers (PA) remained the largest innovation bucket in Q1 2026, with 179 newly published patent families, ahead of SAW filters (152) and RF front-end modules (136). These three segments continue to structure a large part of the competitive IP landscape, reflecting both the importance of core RF performance blocks and the broader industry move toward integrated front-end architectures. At the same time, several segments displayed a more mature IP profile, with newly granted patents exceeding new patent publications during the quarter. This was notably the case for BAW filters, with 99 newly granted families versus 78 newly published families, as well as for multiplexers (39 vs. 21), packaging (34 vs. 24), and XBAR (25 vs. 20). Such a pattern suggests that innovation in these areas is not only continuing, but also reaching a more advanced stage of portfolio consolidation and patent prosecution.
Leading Players and Competitive Dynamics in Newly Published Patents
Among the leading patent assignees, contrasting strategies were observed in newly published patent families. RadRock (Ruishi Chuangxin) ranked first with 54 new families, representing an increase of approximately 52% compared with its average quarterly level in the previous year. Murata remained highly active with 50 new families, up around 14%, while Skyworks recorded 35 new families, corresponding to a strong increase of about 52%. Particularly sharp rises were observed for Lansus, which climbed to 30 newly published families (+140%), and NSI Corp, which reached 15 (+131%). Significant relative growth also came from Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, which rose to 9 new families (+300%), and Apple, which reached 6 (+243%), albeit from a lower historical base. By contrast, some established players showed more selective filing behavior, including Qualcomm, which fell to 8 newly published families (-52%), Oppo Mobile with 6 (-53%), and CETC with 9 (-28%).
Grant Momentum Highlights Portfolio Maturation
On the granted patent side, the quarter confirmed that several RF front-end portfolios are entering a stronger maturation phase. Murata clearly led with 92 newly granted patent families in Q1 2026, representing an increase of about 47% versus its average quarterly level in the previous year. Skyworks followed with 41 newly granted families, up approximately 69%, while Samsung Electronics reached 18, corresponding to a 50% increase. Particularly noteworthy grant accelerations were observed for several Chinese players, including ROFS Microsystem, which rose to 16 newly granted families (+327%), Maxscend, which reached 8 (+146%), and Chemsemi, which climbed to 7 (+133%). Realtek also doubled its grant output to 5 families (+100%), while Huawei improved to 11 newly granted patent families (+26%). In contrast, CETC declined to 4 newly granted families (-53%), and Qualcomm decreased more moderately to 13 (-13%), illustrating a more differentiated grant momentum across major players.
Emerging Players and Notable Innovations
Q1 2026 also highlighted the continued renewal of the competitive IP landscape through newcomers. KnowMade identified 76 companies worldwide whose first RF Front-End Modules & Components patent filings were made in Q1 2026. Among them, three global new entrants deserve particular attention this quarter.
- Rakuten Mobile / Rakuten Symphony (Japan) illustrate the arrival of telecom-network-driven players into the RF front-end space, with a first patent family published in Q1 2026 which is focused on optimizing power amplifier energy consumption in O-RAN architectures, linking RF hardware control with real-time traffic scheduling and network sustainability objectives.
- Bonsai Systems (Canada) stands out with a first patent on a configurable multi-path RF power amplifier architecture designed to jointly improve linearity and power efficiency across the full output range, an approach that goes beyond more conventional PA schemes.
- CesiumAstro (USA) published a first patent family combined selective activation of digital pre-distortion blocks with per-element amplifier control, a direction that reflects the increasing convergence between RF front-end design, beamforming, and energy-aware system architectures.
Strengthen Your Strategy with KnowMade’s Patent Monitoring Service
KnowMade’s RF Front-End Modules & Components Patent Monitor provides a comprehensive and continuously updated view of the global RF front-end IP landscape, helping organizations make better-informed strategic decisions in a highly competitive environment. At the core of the service lies the interactive dashboard, which has been designed to deliver immediate, actionable insights into RF front-end IP trends through a more intuitive and analytical user experience. Combined with quarterly analyst updates, it enables users not only to monitor patent activity, but also to interpret shifting competitive positions, identify fast-rising patent assignees, and detect early signals of disruption across the value chain.
A Powerful Interactive Dashboard for RF Front-End IP Analysis
The interactive dashboard offers advanced capabilities to dynamically explore the RF front-end patent landscape:
- Interactive data visualization for immediate understanding of key trends and competitive dynamics
- Multi-criteria filtering by assignees, technologies, countries, dates, and legal status
- Quarterly tracking of patent activity, including new filings, grants, expirations, and collaborations
- Seamless drill-down from high-level market views to specific players, technologies, and patent families
- Customizable exploration paths tailored to the needs of R&D, IP, strategy, and business development teams
This interactive environment enables users to quickly identify emerging trends, benchmark key innovators, and focus on the insights that matter most for decision-making.
Comprehensive and Continuously Updated Data
The RF Front-End Modules & Components Patent Monitor combines a quarterly updated patent database with the online interactive dashboard to provide both exhaustive data access and powerful analytical capabilities. The service includes:
- A quarterly updated Excel database covering all patents published up to the previous quarter
- Detailed patent information, including patent numbers, dates, assignees, titles, abstracts, and related metadata
- Technology segmentation across key RF front-end domains, including PA, LNA, SAW, BAW, XBAR/LBAW, multiplexers, switches, tuners, packaging, and RF FEM
- Direct access to original patent documents and legal status information through linked online records
- Quarterly updates highlighting new patent applications, newly granted patents, expired or abandoned patents, and IP collaborations
Because the dataset is carefully selected, enriched, and curated by KnowMade’s IP analysts, users benefit from a structured and reliable foundation for monitoring patent activity and competitive moves over time.
A Strategic Tool for Competitive Intelligence
By leveraging KnowMade’s RF Front-End Modules & Components monitoring service, companies can:
- Track competitors’ innovation strategies and IP positioning
- Detect emerging players and early signals of disruption
- Monitor technology developments and anticipate market shifts
- Support timely decisions in R&D, IP, strategy, and investment
Ultimately, the combination of a curated patent database, quarterly analyst-driven updates, and interactive dashboard transforms complex patent information into clear and actionable strategic intelligence, helping organizations strengthen their position in the fast-evolving RF front-end ecosystem.
For more information, visit the dedicated web page: RF Front-End Modules & Components Patent Monitor.
Press contact
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About KnowMade
KnowMade is a technology intelligence and IP strategy firm specializing in the analysis of patents and scientific publications. We assist innovative companies, investors, and research organizations in understanding the competitive landscape, anticipating technological trends, identifying opportunities and risks, improving their R&D, and shaping effective IP strategies.
KnowMade’s analysts combine their strong technology expertise and in-depth knowledge of patents with powerful analytics tools and methodologies to transform patent and scientific data into actionable insights to support decision-making in R&D, innovation, investment, and intellectual property.
KnowMade has solid expertise in Semiconductors and Packaging, Power Electronics, Batteries and Energy Management, RF and Wireless Communications, Photonics, MEMS, Sensing and Imaging, Medical Devices, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, and Agri-Food.