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HEAD TO HEAD

AlibabaAppleICBC

Technology portfolios compared in the same window and counting units. Scale is compared only within the same field or subclass.

Same window · published 2025-01-01 — 2025-12-31Some name or date coverage is incomplete; affected counts are lower bounds

This is a structural comparison of collected portfolios. The same requested window does not establish equal entity scope, covered months or industry; no competitive ranking is inferred.

Applicant-name coverage differs. The counts below cover only the listed names and do not represent complete company portfolios.

Alibaba: Applicant names included in these statistics — ALIBABA CHINA CO LTD · ALIBABA CLOUD COMPUTING CO LTD · ALIBABA CLOUD COMPUTING LTD · ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTDReviewed names not covered — ALIBABA (CHINA) CO., LTD. · ALIBABA CLOUD COMPUTING CO., LTD. · ALIBABA CLOUD COMPUTING LTD. · ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED · 阿里云计算有限公司 · 阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司 · 阿里巴巴(中国)有限公司

Apple: Applicant names included in these statistics — APPLE INCReviewed names not covered — APPLE COMPUTER INC · APPLE COMPUTER, INC. · APPLE INC. · APPLE, INC.

ICBC: Applicant names included in these statistics — INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL BANK OF CHINA CO LTDReviewed names not covered — INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL BANK OF CHINA LIMITED · 中国工商银行股份有限公司

Alibaba

Publications
1,101
Invention share
96%
Concentration
0.51
Green technology
—

Apple

Publications
12,360
Invention share
87%
Concentration
0.38
Green technology
—

ICBC

Publications
3,242
Invention share
100%
Concentration
0.81
Green technology
—
0.78

Alibaba × Apple

0.83

Alibaba × ICBC

0.69

Apple × ICBC

Cosine similarity of application counts across 35 fields. 1 is identical, 0 is no overlap.

01Technology field mirror

The 12 fields with the largest combined share. Share shows structure; count shows scale.

Technology field mirror
Technology fieldAlibaba / Apple / ICBC
Computer technology
63.5%
39.1%
78.6%
Digital communication
12.5%
42.1%
15.6%
IT methods for management
3.7%
2.4%
41.3%
Audio-visual technology
29.8%
14.2%
1%
Telecommunications
0%
13.9%
0.8%
Optics
0%
7.2%
0%
Measurement
0.8%
5.7%
0.3%
Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
0.3%
4.8%
0.2%
Control
0.2%
1.9%
1.8%
Semiconductors
0.6%
3%
0%
Medical technology
0.4%
2.6%
0.1%
Basic communication processes
0.6%
2%
0.1%

Inspect one technology field

Inspect collected applications, portfolio share and supporting publications within one field. A technology overlap does not establish that companies in different industries are direct competitors.

Apple

Collected applications
531
Share of collected applications with IPC
4.8%

Coverage is incomplete; counts and shares describe only the collected subset.

View Apple publications in this field

ICBC

Collected applications
5
Share of collected applications with IPC
0.2%

Coverage is incomplete; counts and shares describe only the collected subset.

View ICBC publications in this field

One application may belong to multiple fields, so shares can sum to more than 100%. Drill-down lists publications; an application publication and its grant may appear separately.

02Same problem: shared IPC subclasses

The 10 subclasses in every company's top 60 with the most combined applications. Scale is compared within a subclass, never across different business scopes.

G06FData processing
Alibaba547
Apple3,635
ICBC2,203
H04WWireless networks
Alibaba9
Apple3,570
ICBC42
H04LDigital transmission
Alibaba113
Apple2,146
ICBC468
G06QBusiness data processing
Alibaba40
Apple264
ICBC1,339
H04NPictorial communication, video
Alibaba331
Apple931
ICBC26
G06NComputing models, AI
Alibaba173
Apple200
ICBC829
G06TImage processing
Alibaba67
Apple986
ICBC74
G06VImage and video recognition
Alibaba70
Apple417
ICBC259
G10LSpeech processing
Alibaba25
Apple240
ICBC52
H02JPower supply, energy storage
Alibaba3
Apple225
ICBC2

03Where each one leans

Observed emphasis within each company’s collected top-60 IPC subclasses. A dash for another company means outside its top-60 list, not zero applications or a market gap. Incomplete coverage can also change the ordering.

Alibaba

  • H04NPictorial communication, video
    Alibaba
    331
    Apple
    931
    ICBC
    26
  • H03MCoding, decoding
    Alibaba
    7
    Apple
    41
    ICBC
    2
  • G10LSpeech processing
    Alibaba
    25
    Apple
    240
    ICBC
    52
  • H10BMemory devices
    Alibaba
    2
    Apple
    —
    ICBC
    —
  • H10N
    Alibaba
    2
    Apple
    —
    ICBC
    —
  • F02B
    Alibaba
    1
    Apple
    —
    ICBC
    —

Apple

  • H04WWireless networks
    Alibaba
    9
    Apple
    3,570
    ICBC
    42
  • H04BTransmission
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    981
    ICBC
    2
  • G02BOptical elements
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    679
    ICBC
    —
  • H04LDigital transmission
    Alibaba
    113
    Apple
    2,146
    ICBC
    468
  • H04MTelephonic communication
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    405
    ICBC
    18
  • G09GDisplay control
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    300
    ICBC
    1

ICBC

  • G06QBusiness data processing
    Alibaba
    40
    Apple
    264
    ICBC
    1,339
  • G06FData processing
    Alibaba
    547
    Apple
    3,635
    ICBC
    2,203
  • G06NComputing models, AI
    Alibaba
    173
    Apple
    200
    ICBC
    829
  • G06VImage and video recognition
    Alibaba
    70
    Apple
    417
    ICBC
    259
  • G07F
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    —
    ICBC
    17
  • G07C
    Alibaba
    —
    Apple
    —
    ICBC
    14

04Publication rhythm

AlibabaAppleICBCPublications per period
Publications per period
PeriodAlibabaAppleICBC
2025-01≥78 (partial coverage)≥1,049 (partial coverage)≥136 (partial coverage)
2025-02≥71 (partial coverage)≥968 (partial coverage)≥70 (partial coverage)
2025-03≥72 (partial coverage)≥1,319 (partial coverage)≥497 (partial coverage)
2025-04≥65 (partial coverage)≥1,232 (partial coverage)≥497 (partial coverage)
2025-05≥71 (partial coverage)≥993 (partial coverage)≥231 (partial coverage)
2025-06≥83 (partial coverage)≥846 (partial coverage)≥75 (partial coverage)
2025-07≥82 (partial coverage)≥956 (partial coverage)≥85 (partial coverage)
2025-08≥104 (partial coverage)≥989 (partial coverage)≥127 (partial coverage)
2025-09≥119 (partial coverage)≥906 (partial coverage)≥385 (partial coverage)
2025-10≥94 (partial coverage)≥928 (partial coverage)≥284 (partial coverage)
2025-11≥115 (partial coverage)≥1,005 (partial coverage)≥427 (partial coverage)
2025-12≥147 (partial coverage)≥1,169 (partial coverage)≥428 (partial coverage)

Empty dashed outlines mark uncollected periods. Hatched bars and ≥ counts mark partial coverage.

Publication timing follows examination and publication cycles, not R&D intensity.

What makes it comparableThe same publication window and counting units. Companies with different windows are not put in one comparison.

What is not comparableGroup totals. Business and entity scopes differ; compare scale within a field or subclass.

Not a rankingSimilarity and shares describe structure, not patent value, quality or technical leadership.