Company patents

eBay Inc.

EBAY INC's patent strategy reveals a significant and consistent decline across nearly all categories, which is surprising given the dynamic nature of e-commerce. While Business Methods & Fintech still dominates with 60.2% of its portfolio, it has seen a sharp decline of -23.3% in 2025 and -60.7% so far in 2026, mirroring similar substantial drops in key computing areas like Machine Learning & AI (-13.8% in 2025, -62.0% so far in 2026) and Databases & Information Retrieval (-16.0% in 2025, -60.7% so far in 2026), indicating a broad shift away from patenting in these core technology areas.

Patent Trend by Technology Area

Yearly patent publications since 2023

Product themes

Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.

1,057 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 43 themes

Personalized Recommendations is up +113.3% YoY. Worth a look.
Personalized Recommendations

Systems that use user data, preferences, and machine learning to generate tailored advice, product recommendations, goal-setting plans, or contextual information for individuals across different domains.

Business Methods & Fintech
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164since 2023
+113.3%YoY
Automated Transaction Systems

Systems designed to streamline and automate various commercial transactions, including mobile-enhanced processes, secure online checkouts, customer service interactions, and privilege issuance, often leveraging digital authentication.

Business Methods & Fintech
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97since 2023
-59.5%YoY
Intelligent Decision Support

Systems that process data to provide personalized recommendations, predict events, or automate decision-making processes based on learned patterns, user behavior, or environmental factors.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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80since 2023
+114.3%YoY
Video Quality & Encoding Optimization

Methods and apparatus for improving the visual fidelity, resolution, or compression efficiency of video signals, often through advanced processing, up-scaling, or neural network-based filters.

Computer Vision
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70since 2023
-28.6%YoY
Collaborative User Experiences

User interface designs and systems that enable multiple users to interact with shared content, provide feedback, or coordinate activities, often across different devices or locations.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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66since 2023
+6.7%YoY
Access Control & Identity Management

Systems and methods for authenticating users, devices, or applications, authorizing their access to resources based on policies, and managing digital identities across various platforms.

Network Security & Access ControlWeb & Cloud Service Protocols
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54since 2023
-61.9%YoY
Video Enhancement & Object Tracking

Methods and systems for improving the quality of video streams, generating intermediate frames, or continuously locating and following objects within a sequence of images, even under occlusion.

Image Processing
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50since 2023
+8.3%YoY
Wearable & Mobile Interaction

Designing user interfaces and interaction methods specifically for mobile or wearable devices, enabling control of external systems, monitoring user states, or facilitating real-world transactions.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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48since 2023
-33.3%YoY
Efficient Visual Feature Extraction

Algorithms and hardware optimizations for rapidly identifying and characterizing relevant visual features (e.g., objects, motion, gradients) from images or video streams, often integrating machine learning for feature representation and recognition, with a focus on real-time performance and reduced computational cost.

Pattern Recognition & ML Models
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46since 2023
-8.3%YoY
Blockchain for Secure Transactions & Identity

Focuses on using distributed ledger technology (DLT) like blockchain to secure financial transactions, manage digital identities, or ensure data integrity and traceability across various applications.

Cryptographic Mechanisms
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44since 2023
-68.4%YoY
AI Information Synthesis

Systems and methods utilizing artificial intelligence, particularly large language models and neural networks, to extract, summarize, generate, or categorize information from unstructured or semi-structured data sources.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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39since 2023
new
Large Model Text Generation

Techniques for generating human-like text or other content using large pre-trained models, often involving prompt engineering, speculative decoding, or multi-modal inputs for content creation.

Machine Learning & AINatural Language Processing
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35since 2023
+750.0%YoY
Data Integration & Content Delivery Platforms

Platforms and methods for aggregating data from diverse sources, generating dynamic content, and delivering it efficiently to users, often involving social media, programmatic advertising, or interactive experiences within cloud environments.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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31since 2023
+25.0%YoY
Specialized Data Integration

Methods and systems for integrating, transforming, and managing complex or domain-specific data from disparate sources into a unified structure, often for specific applications like social networks, genomics, or business forms.

Databases & Information Retrieval
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29since 2023
-25.0%YoY
Digital Asset Management

Technologies for securing, managing, and transacting with virtual currencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other blockchain-based digital assets, including hardware wallets and tokenization schemes for various purposes.

Business Methods & Fintech
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28since 2023
+33.3%YoY
AR/VR User Interfaces

Techniques for rendering, interacting with, and managing content within augmented or virtual reality environments, including spatial tracking, gaze interaction, and dynamic multi-application display management.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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25since 2023
+33.3%YoY
Generative AI for Images

Techniques utilizing deep learning models like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or diffusion models to create new images, modify existing ones, or generate synthetic data based on various inputs or conditions.

Image ProcessingComputer Vision
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23since 2023
+125.0%YoY
Interactive 3D Data Visualization

Methods and systems for displaying complex data in three-dimensional graphical formats, allowing users to manipulate, explore, and derive insights from the data through interactive controls.

Input/Output & User Interfaces
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23since 2023
+50.0%YoY
Distributed Cloud/Edge Processing

Techniques for distributing computational tasks, data storage, and service logic across cloud data centers, edge devices, and user equipment to improve performance, resilience, or resource utilization. This includes architectures for split rendering, decentralized ledgers, and microservices.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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23since 2023
-28.6%YoY
Network Operations, Reliability & Traffic

Techniques and systems designed to monitor network health, diagnose issues, optimize traffic flow, and ensure continuous operation and reduced downtime in complex network environments, including cloud and storage area networks.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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21since 2023
+66.7%YoY
Multimodal Data Fusion

Techniques for combining and analyzing information from multiple distinct data modalities (e.g., text, image, video, audio, sensor data) to derive richer insights or improve system performance and decision-making.

Databases & Information RetrievalMachine Learning & AINatural Language Processing
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21since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Granular Data Encryption & Access Control

Systems and methods for encrypting data at a fine-grained level (e.g., per data unit or based on sensitivity) and controlling access to it, often involving delegated authorization, contextual policies, or secure data sharing.

Cryptographic Mechanisms
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19since 2023
-62.5%YoY
AI-Powered Adaptive Learning & Personalization

Systems leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to dynamically adjust educational content, learning paths, goals, or feedback based on individual user performance, progress, or physiological data. This includes generating personalized exercises, recommendations, and adaptive sequencing of knowledge points.

Pattern Recognition & ML Models
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18since 2023
+900.0%YoY
Vision-Based Object & Pose Estimation

Methods and apparatus for detecting objects and determining their three-dimensional position and orientation (pose) using imagery or point cloud data, often for navigation, surveying, or environmental understanding.

Computer Vision
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17since 2023
+33.3%YoY
Context-Aware Conversational AI

AI systems designed to engage in natural language dialogue, maintain conversation state, understand user intent, and generate relevant responses, often across multiple communication channels or modalities.

Natural Language Processing
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11since 2023
-71.4%YoY
Document & Information Extraction

Methods and systems for identifying, extracting, and structuring specific entities, relationships, or insights from text-based documents, often involving techniques like named entity recognition, relation extraction, or summarization.

Natural Language Processing
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9since 2023
-50.0%YoY
System Resource & Power Optimization

Methods and systems for efficiently allocating computing resources, balancing workloads, and managing power states to improve performance, reduce energy consumption, or enhance reliability in computing platforms.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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8since 2023
+200.0%YoY
MLOps & Model Deployment

Systems and methods for automating the lifecycle of machine learning models, including pipeline deployment, model management, versioning, and configuring for different inference environments.

Machine Learning & AI
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7since 2023
new
3D Reconstruction & Modeling

Processes for creating or manipulating three-dimensional digital representations of objects or environments, including mesh generation, surface fitting, and depth estimation from multiple views.

Image Processing
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7since 2023
0.0%YoY
Workflow Automation & Orchestration

Systems and methods for automating multi-step tasks, business processes, or service interactions, often involving AI agents, programmable interfaces, or formal orchestration languages to streamline operations.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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7since 2023
new
Multi-modal Sensor Fusion

Techniques for combining data from disparate sensor types (e.g., cameras, radar, mobile device signals) to achieve a more robust and comprehensive understanding of an environment or subject, often leveraging machine learning for interpretation and correlation.

Computer Vision
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5since 2023
-66.7%YoY
Secure Data Storage & Provenance

Techniques for protecting data at rest or in backup, ensuring its integrity, confidentiality, and verifiable origin, often involving encryption, unique identifiers, or secure repositories.

Network Security & Access Control
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5since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Virtualization & Secure Remote Access

Technologies enabling the creation and management of virtual computing environments, including virtual machines and virtual desktops, with an emphasis on secure and efficient remote access, updates, and performance.

Operating Systems & Program Control
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5since 2023
-66.7%YoY
Network Intrusion Detection

Systems and methods for identifying and blocking unauthorized access, malicious activities, or abnormal behavior within a network by analyzing traffic, system logs, or behavioral patterns.

Network Security & Access Control
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4since 2023
new
Specialized Neural Network Architectures

Development and optimization of novel neural network layers or architectures specifically designed to improve performance or efficiency for computer vision tasks.

Computer Vision
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3since 2023
new
Secure Key Management & Rotationfiltered

Methods and systems for generating, distributing, updating, rotating, and securely destroying cryptographic keys to maintain data confidentiality and integrity over time, including quantum key distribution.

Cryptographic Mechanisms
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3since 2023
n/a
AI/ML Hardware Acceleration

Specialized hardware, architectural designs, and computational methods to improve the speed, efficiency, and security of artificial intelligence and machine learning model execution, particularly for inference and data processing.

Machine Learning & AI
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2since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Cloud Security Posture Management

Tools and processes for assessing, monitoring, and improving the security configuration and external accessibility of resources deployed within cloud computing environments.

Network Security & Access Control
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2since 2023
new
IoT Device & Network Management

Methods and systems for monitoring, controlling, and managing Internet of Things (IoT) devices and their communication networks, often involving adaptive or intelligent frameworks for data acquisition, relay, and automation.

Web & Cloud Service Protocols
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2since 2023
n/a
AI for Medical Diagnostics

Utilizing machine learning, particularly deep learning, to analyze medical data such as images, sensor readings, or physiological signals for disease prediction, diagnosis, or treatment assessment.

Computer VisionImage Processing
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1since 2023
new
Federated & Distributed ML

Methods for training machine learning models across multiple decentralized devices or servers while keeping data localized, often involving aggregation of model parameters and secure communication.

Machine Learning & AI
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1since 2023
new
Hardware-Assisted Cryptographic Operations

Utilizing dedicated hardware components, secure enclaves, or trusted execution environments to perform cryptographic operations, enhancing security, performance, or isolation from software vulnerabilities.

Cryptographic Mechanisms
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1since 2023
n/a
Secure Communication Protocols

Technologies for establishing and maintaining secure communication channels between devices or networks, often employing encryption, secure protocols, or virtual private networks (VPNs).

Network Security & Access Control
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1since 2023
n/a

Patents

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