Patent Intelligence · Claim Evolution
Are patents getting broader or narrower?
The number of claims in a patent is a rough proxy for how broadly the inventor tried to protect their invention. More claims = wider protection. How has this changed since 2010? Which domains are writing broader IP today than they were a decade ago?
Global avg claims
23.8
2010–2014 avg
28.2 claims
2020–2024 avg
22.7 claims (-19.5%)
Overall direction
narrowing
Average Claims Per Patent by Grant Year
↓ Narrowing (-19.5%)Showing avg claims (purple), P75 (light bar). More claims = broader filing strategy.
25
2010
34
2011
29
2012
31
2013
24
2014
22
2015
24
2016
24
2017
21
2018
24
2019
20
2020
21
2021
25
2022
24
2023
23
2024
Year-by-Year Claim Statistics
| Year | Avg | Median | P75 | Broad (21+) | Narrow (≤5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 22.9 | 22 | 23 | 48 | 0 |
| 2023 | 23.9 | 22 | 23 | 35 | 0 |
| 2022 | 25.1 | 22 | 24 | 29 | 1 |
| 2021 | 21.3 | 22 | 23 | 30 | 3 |
| 2020 | 20.3 | 22 | 23 | 32 | 2 |
| 2019 | 23.6 | 22 | 24 | 37 | 5 |
| 2018 | 21.4 | 23 | 23 | 35 | 1 |
| 2017 | 23.5 | 22 | 27 | 25 | 2 |
| 2016 | 23.5 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 1 |
| 2015 | 21.6 | 21 | 27 | 17 | 1 |
| 2014 | 23.7 | 23 | 29 | 20 | 1 |
| 2013 | 31.2 | 26 | 32 | 24 | 0 |
| 2012 | 28.6 | 25 | 30 | 20 | 1 |
| 2011 | 33.6 | 27 | 34 | 12 | 0 |
| 2010 | 25.0 | 24 | 36 | 11 | 1 |
Claim Evolution by Domain
Three-period averages (early 2010–14, mid 2015–19, recent 2020–24) with trend direction.
healthcare
—
2010–14
—
2015–19
28.7
2020–24
Semiconductors
22.2
2010–14
23.4
2015–19
25.5
2020–24
Gene Editing
—
2010–14
—
2015–19
24.3
2020–24
Consumer Electronics
30.8
2010–14
24.4
2015–19
24.0
2020–24
Software
33.0
2010–14
23.7
2015–19
23.7
2020–24
Automotive
—
2010–14
24.5
2015–19
23.6
2020–24
Telecommunications
31.7
2010–14
22.2
2015–19
23.3
2020–24
AI & Machine Learning
23.8
2010–14
24.5
2015–19
22.6
2020–24
finance
—
2010–14
27.3
2015–19
22.2
2020–24
robotics
—
2010–14
18.9
2015–19
21.7
2020–24
gaming
—
2010–14
16.7
2015–19
21.3
2020–24
aerospace
29.3
2010–14
19.0
2015–19
20.6
2020–24
Mechanical Engineering
15.8
2010–14
22.9
2015–19
20.2
2020–24
E-Commerce
31.0
2010–14
21.7
2015–19
20.1
2020–24
Clean Energy
13.7
2010–14
17.2
2015–19
20.0
2020–24
materials
—
2010–14
17.7
2015–19
20.0
2020–24
Biotechnology
28.4
2010–14
20.3
2015–19
19.8
2020–24
Pharmaceuticals
28.3
2010–14
17.8
2015–19
19.1
2020–24
medical_devices
—
2010–14
17.1
2015–19
16.4
2020–24
oncology
—
2010–14
17.8
2015–19
—
2020–24
What claim count measures
Each claim in a patent defines a distinct scope of protection. More claims = more chances to catch infringers (different claim types cover different embodiments), but also more prosecution cost and more opportunity for the USPTO to invalidate individual claims. High claim counts are an aggressive protection strategy.
Why broadening ≠ bad
Broader filings (more claims) often indicate that inventors and their attorneys are getting more sophisticated at capturing every dimension of an invention. They may also reflect the trend toward continuation patent families — filing multiple continuations with different claim sets to build a defensive moat.
Domain variation explained
Pharmaceutical patents tend to have more claims because each formulation variant, dosage form, and method of treatment can get its own claim. Software patents are constrained by Alice doctrine, which invalidates abstract software claims, leading to tighter average counts. Biotech sits in between.