USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Align Technology, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 1,029 granted patents across 71 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: A61C (DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

1,029

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

20.6

Avg claims per patent

+232%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Align holds 1,029 US patents across 71 technology areas, rank #439 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#439
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 0.1%
by Innovation Score (71.6/100): 20.6
avg claims per patent: +232%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Align Technology, Inc. has been granted 1,029 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Align Technology, Inc. at rank #439 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 71 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 20.6 claims per patent with primary concentration in A61C (DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE). As a US Corporation, Align Technology, Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Align sits between Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki (1,041 patents, rank #435) and Aptiv Technologies Ag (1,025 patents, rank #443) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 71.6/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 791 grants, compared with 238 in the 2015–2019 window, a +232% shift in five-year velocity. An acceleration of this magnitude signals aggressive R&D investment and expanding technical ambition. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Align Technology, Inc.'s 20.6 average claims per patent reflects complex, broadly scoped inventions that are difficult for competitors to design around, while a multi-domain presence across 71 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Align Technology, Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Toyota Jidoshokki

1,041
Mitsubishi Chemic…

1,040
Genentech

1,039
Seoul National Un…

1,030
Contemporary Ampe…

1,029
Align Technology ◀

1,029
Carl Zeiss SMT

1,028
DSM IP Assets B V

1,027
Aptiv

1,025

What this shows Align holds 1,029 patents at rank #439, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Align

By rank, the assignees closest to #439 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61C (Dentistry)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Align's primary technology class.

Align's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

72 Top 1% higher than 99% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Align Technology, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	31	3.0%
2016	41	4.0%
2017	47	4.6%
2018	48	4.7%
2019	71	6.9%
2020	105	10.2%
2021	110	10.7%
2022	116	11.3%
2023	159	15.5%
2024	166	16.1%
2025	135	13.1%

Which technologies does Align Technology, Inc. patent most?

A61C - DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE 941

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION 316

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 286

G16H - HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA 260

B33Y - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING 227

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 184

B29C - SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING 126

B29L - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES 94

G01B - MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS 89

G02B - OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS 81

G05B - CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS 62

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 54

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 53

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 52

G06N - COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS 39

Top 15 of 71 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Complex

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#439

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

71.6 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Align Technology, Inc. hold?

Align Technology, Inc. holds 1,029 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 71 technology areas.

What is Align Technology, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Align Technology, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 71.6 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Align Technology, Inc. focus on?

Align Technology, Inc.'s top technology area is A61C (DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE) with 941 patents. The company has filed patents in 71 CPC subclasses total.

Is Align Technology, Inc.'s patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Align Technology, Inc.'s recent filing velocity is +232% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

What does claim depth mean for Align Technology, Inc.'s patents?

Align Technology, Inc.'s patents average 20.6 claims each. This indicates complex, broadly scoped patents that are harder for competitors to design around.

How is the Align Technology, Inc. patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Align's 1,029 grants land it in the top 0.1% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Align ranks #439 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in A61C - see who else leads that technology area. A61C leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.