According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, more than 3,420,560 US patents were granted to tracked assignees between 2015 and 2025. This guide explains how to read that data on PlainPatent; every figure we publish is computed directly from the public USPTO PatentsView dataset, and our methodology documents how each is derived and verified. Last reviewed June 2026.

How the Innovation Score Is Calculated

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, more than 3,420,560 US patents were granted to tracked assignees between 2015 and 2025. The PlainPatent Innovation Score is a composite metric from 0 to 100 designed to measure the overall strength of a company's patent portfolio across that data — not just size, but quality, growth, and breadth. It is computed from official USPTO grant data via PatentsView; see our methodology for how each figure is derived and verified. Last reviewed June 2026.

The Four Dimensions

40%

Portfolio Volume

The raw number of US patents granted 2015–2025. Larger portfolios indicate sustained R&D investment. Scored on a logarithmic scale so a company with 100 patents isn't unfairly compared to one with 100,000.

20%

Filing Velocity

Year-over-year patent filing growth rate, comparing 2020–2025 filings to the 2015–2019 baseline. Companies accelerating their patent programs score higher, reflecting active innovation momentum.

25%

Technology Breadth

The number of distinct CPC (Cooperative Patent Classification) subclasses a company patents in. Broad innovation across many domains indicates versatility; deep focus in few areas indicates specialization. Both are valuable — the score normalizes this across the portfolio.

15%

Claim Depth

Average number of claims per patent. More claims = broader legal scope = harder to design around. A patent with 30+ claims is significantly more defensible than one with 5. This rewards companies filing detailed, comprehensive patents over thin ones.

Score Formula

score = (volume_norm × 0.40)

+ (velocity_norm × 0.20)

+ (breadth_norm × 0.25)

+ (depth_norm × 0.15)

× 100

Each dimension is normalized 0–1 relative to all companies in the dataset, then combined and scaled to 0–100.

What the Score Doesn't Measure

Citation counts (not available in PatentsView at company level without a 2GB download)
Patent value or licensing revenue
International patent coverage
Patent expiration or maintenance status
Litigation history

Data source: USPTO PatentsView — US granted patents 2015–2025. PatentsView is a public research project of the USPTO that makes patent data openly available for analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a higher Innovation Score always better?

Generally yes, but context matters. A company with a score of 40 that is rapidly growing may be more interesting than one at 60 that is stagnant. Use the velocity and trend data alongside the score.

Why are some large companies scored lower than expected?

Volume alone doesn't guarantee a high score. If a company filed many patents in 2015–2018 but has slowed down recently, its velocity score will drag the overall score down.

How often is the data updated?

The current dataset covers patents granted through 2025. PatentsView releases bulk data quarterly; PlainPatent will update when significant new data is available.

What is CPC?

The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system jointly developed by the USPTO and European Patent Office. It assigns technology codes to every patent, enabling apples-to-apples comparisons across technology domains.