USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Paypal, Inc.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 2,609 granted patents across 62 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: G06Q (INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE,).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

2,609

Total patents granted

CPC technology areas

19.6

Avg claims per patent

+87%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Paypal holds 2,609 US patents across 62 technology areas, rank #147 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#147
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 0.1%
by Innovation Score (70.6/100): 19.6
avg claims per patent: +87%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Paypal, Inc. has been granted 2,609 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing Paypal, Inc. at rank #147 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 62 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 19.6 claims per patent with primary concentration in G06Q (INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE,). As a US Corporation, Paypal, Inc. is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Paypal sits between ASML Netherlands B.v. (2,645 patents, rank #143) and Commscope Technologies Llc (2,550 patents, rank #151) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 70.6/100 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 1,700 grants, compared with 909 in the 2015–2019 window, a +87% 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. Paypal, Inc.'s 19.6 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 62 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Paypal, Inc. against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

ASML Netherlands…

2,645
Airbus Operations

2,643
Kioxia

2,641
Arm

2,613
Paypal ◀

2,609
Red Hat

2,585
Semiconductor Com…

2,555
Omron

2,552
Commscope

2,550

What this shows Paypal holds 2,609 patents at rank #147, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Paypal

By rank, the assignees closest to #147 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G06Q (Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially…)

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

Paypal's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

71 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

Paypal, Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	48	1.8%
2016	150	5.7%
2017	205	7.9%
2018	231	8.9%
2019	275	10.5%
2020	309	11.8%
2021	327	12.5%
2022	312	12.0%
2023	316	12.1%
2024	283	10.8%
2025	153	5.9%

Which technologies does Paypal, Inc. patent most?

G06Q - INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 1,593

G06F - ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING 1,291

H04L - TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION 978

H04W - WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS 407

G06N - COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS 278

G07F - COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS 120

G06V - IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING 104

G06K - GRAPHICAL DATA READING ; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS 93

H04M - TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION 82

G06T - IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL 62

G07G - REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS 49

G10L - SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING 42

H04N - PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION 30

H04B - TRANSMISSION 27

G07C - TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE 24

Top 15 of 62 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Multi-domain

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Accelerating

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#147

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

70.6 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 Paypal, Inc. hold?

Paypal, Inc. holds 2,609 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 62 technology areas.

What is Paypal, Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Paypal, Inc. has an Innovation Score of 70.6 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Paypal, Inc. focus on?

Paypal, Inc.'s top technology area is G06Q (INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR) with 1,593 patents. The company has filed patents in 62 CPC subclasses total.

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

Paypal, Inc.'s recent filing velocity is +87% compared to the prior five-year period. This indicates accelerating innovation.

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

Paypal, Inc.'s patents average 19.6 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Paypal, 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

Paypal's 2,609 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 - Paypal ranks #147 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in G06Q - see who else leads that technology area. G06Q 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.