Do Asserted Patents Have Shorter Claims?

Data from 9,600 asserted patents and 10,000 randomly granted controls over the same priority period reveals a surprising nuance: asserted claims are shorter on average—but not in every industry.

Claim Length by Industry

Shorter Claims in Most Industries Asserted independent claims have a median length of 150 words vs 167 words for non-asserted claims. Only 10% of asserted patents have independent claims exceeding 300 words. The pattern holds across most industries with roughly 550 cases per industry.

The Pharma and Biotech Exception Pharma and biotech break the pattern entirely. Asserted pharma patents have a median claim length of 83 words vs just 48 for controls. Biotech shows a similar inversion at 92 words (asserted) vs 82 (control). These industries often require more structural specificity in claims, so longer claims reflect higher-value, well-characterized inventions.

Small-Sample Outliers Healthcare (182 vs 169, ~65 cases) and education (213 vs 124, ~32 cases) also bucked the trend, though low sample sizes make these less conclusive.

Claim Length by Plaintiff Type

Claim length varies significantly by who is asserting. Universities file the shortest independent claims at a median of 122 words—perhaps reflecting more foundational IP. NPEs and operating companies land around 150 words, roughly similar. Individual inventors have the longest claims at 213 words, potentially indicating less sophisticated drafting.

Specification and Figure Differences

Asserted patents come with beefier specifications. The median specification length is 8,400 words for asserted patents vs 7,100 for controls. Asserted patents also have more figures—a median of 13 vs 11 for controls.

Takeaways for Patent Drafters

Before filing, check if independent claims exceed 300 words. If they do, there should be a very intentional reason. Additionally, longer specifications with more embodiments and figures correlate with higher assertion rates—extra detail pays off.