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
674
Overall avg claims
25.1
Median claims
22
P90 (top 10%) has ≥
47 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
5.6%
38 patents
Narrow (4-10)
4–10 claims
10.2%
69 patents
Standard (11-20)
11–20 claims
23.4%
158 patents
Broad (21-40)
21–40 claims
48.2%
325 patents
Extensive (41-80)
41–80 claims
10.7%
72 patents
Comprehensive (81+)
81+ claims
1.8%
12 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 33.7
med 23
P90 60
Software
avg 29.7
med 23
P90 50
Telecommunications
avg 29.1
med 23
P90 49
E-Commerce
avg 27.7
med 23
P90 47
Semiconductors
avg 26.8
med 23
P90 57
Consumer Electronics
avg 26.5
med 23
P90 51
Automotive
avg 25.7
med 22
P90 52
AI & Machine Learning
avg 24.5
med 23
P90 36
Pharmaceuticals
avg 24.0
med 21
P90 44
Biotechnology
avg 23.9
med 21
P90 44
Clean Energy
avg 21.1
med 16
P90 42
Mechanical Engineering
avg 18.7
med 17
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
2641 cit
3
140 claims
232 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
85 claims
250 cit
11
82 claims
120 cit
12
82 claims
399 cit
13
79 claims
219 cit
14
78 claims
24 cit
15
75 claims
4 cit
16
74 claims
18 cit
17
72 claims
34 cit
18
69 claims
18 cit
19
69 claims
859 cit
20
68 claims
34 cit
21
66 claims
249 cit
22
66 claims
23
65 claims
43 cit
24
65 claims
798 cit
25
64 claims
381 cit
26
64 claims
326 cit
27
63 claims
1 cit
28
63 claims
8 cit
29
62 claims
84 cit
30
62 claims
4 cit
31
62 claims
32
62 claims
10 cit
33
62 claims
18 cit
34
61 claims
188 cit
35
61 claims
75 cit
36
60 claims
2132 cit
37
60 claims
4 cit
38
59 claims
498 cit
39
58 claims
83 cit
40
58 claims
251 cit
41
57 claims
13 cit
42
56 claims
878 cit
43
56 claims
2 cit
44
56 claims
1 cit
45
55 claims
46
55 claims
170 cit
47
54 claims
3 cit
48
54 claims
7 cit
49
54 claims
1 cit
50
54 claims
244 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.