Patent Intelligence · Claim Breadth
How broad are patents?
Claim count is the most direct signal of patent scope. A patent with one claim can be easier to design around; one with 100 covers more ground. This is real data on how many claims patents actually contain — across every technology domain.
Patents analyzed
843
Overall avg claims
24.5
Median claims
22
P90 (top 10%) has ≥
42 claims
Claim Count Distribution — All Patents
Classified by total claims (independent + dependent). Note: US base fee covers 20 total claims + 3 independent.
Micro (1-3)
1–3 claims
4.6%
39 patents
Narrow (4-10)
4–10 claims
9.5%
80 patents
Standard (11-20)
11–20 claims
24.8%
209 patents
Broad (21-40)
21–40 claims
50.4%
425 patents
Extensive (41-80)
41–80 claims
9.1%
77 patents
Comprehensive (81+)
81+ claims
1.5%
13 patents
Average Claim Count by Technology Domain
Domains with high avg claims file expansive coverage. Low avg = more focused (or more conservative) prosecution strategy.
Gene Editing
avg 31.2
med 23
P90 52
Software
avg 28.0
med 23
P90 47
E-Commerce
avg 27.2
med 23
P90 47
Telecommunications
avg 27.0
med 23
P90 43
Consumer Electronics
avg 25.6
med 23
P90 47
Semiconductors
avg 25.3
med 23
P90 42
AI & Machine Learning
avg 24.1
med 23
P90 33
Pharmaceuticals
avg 23.7
med 21
P90 44
Biotechnology
avg 23.6
med 21
P90 42
Automotive
avg 23.5
med 22
P90 37
Clean Energy
avg 20.5
med 20
P90 31
Mechanical Engineering
avg 19.2
med 18
P90 31
50 Most Claim-Heavy Patents in the Database
Sorted by total claim count. More claims = more coverage and more annual patent office fees.
1
183 claims
347 cit
2
140 claims
232 cit
3
140 claims
2641 cit
4
136 claims
8 cit
5
123 claims
500 cit
6
110 claims
7
90 claims
49 cit
8
89 claims
76 cit
9
88 claims
4 cit
10
88 claims
6 cit
11
85 claims
250 cit
12
82 claims
399 cit
13
82 claims
120 cit
14
79 claims
219 cit
15
78 claims
24 cit
16
75 claims
4 cit
17
74 claims
18 cit
18
72 claims
34 cit
19
69 claims
18 cit
20
69 claims
859 cit
21
68 claims
34 cit
22
66 claims
23
66 claims
249 cit
24
65 claims
798 cit
25
65 claims
1 cit
26
65 claims
43 cit
27
64 claims
381 cit
28
64 claims
326 cit
29
63 claims
8 cit
30
63 claims
1 cit
31
62 claims
84 cit
32
62 claims
33
62 claims
18 cit
34
62 claims
4 cit
35
62 claims
10 cit
36
61 claims
188 cit
37
61 claims
75 cit
38
60 claims
4 cit
39
60 claims
2132 cit
40
59 claims
498 cit
41
58 claims
251 cit
42
58 claims
83 cit
43
57 claims
13 cit
44
56 claims
878 cit
45
56 claims
2 cit
46
56 claims
1 cit
47
56 claims
2 cit
48
55 claims
170 cit
49
55 claims
50
54 claims
7 cit
More claims ≠ stronger patent
Claim count is not quality. Independent claims define the core scope; dependent claims add fallback positions. A patent with 3 broad independent claims can be stronger than one with 80 narrow claims. But claim count is a rough proxy for prosecution investment — and coverage breadth.
Why pharma & biotech file the most claims
Drug patents must cover dozens of compound variants, dosage ranges, formulations, and treatment methods — each as a separate claim. A single pharma patent protecting a blockbuster drug might need 50-100 claims to cover the full commercial landscape. Software patents typically need far fewer.
The design-around implication
A patent with only 1 independent claim has a single infringement path — if your product avoids that claim, you're safe. A patent with 10 independent claims forces you to clear every one. When assessing FTO risk, check how many independent claims a blocking patent has — that's the real measure of how hard it is to design around.