Software Architecture Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
Software Architecture Patents: Filing Trends and the Companies Behind Them
Filings peaked in 2021 at 1,279 and dropped -29% to 911 by 2024, the last year the data can be treated as complete. Volume moved from 798 in 2017 to a peak of 1,279 in 2021, then declined to 911 by 2024 — a -29% move over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in as publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent years understate real activity and should not be read as a continued decline on their own.
- 1QUALCOMM INC5.7%
- 2INTEL CORP4.1%
- 3SYNOPSYS INC4.0%
- 4HUAWEI TECH CO LTD3.7%
- 5MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC3.6%
See the full software architecture patent landscape analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about software architecture patents
How many software architecture patents have been filed?
This landscape identifies 37,028 published records between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off that combine software architecture terminology with implementation concepts such as source code, deployment pipelines and service orchestration. Filing volume rose from 798 in 2017 to a peak of 1,279 in 2021, then eased to 911 by 2024, the most recent year that can be treated as complete. Later years are still filling in because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months.
Who are the leading patent holders in software architecture?
The ranking covers 100 assignees, with the leading company holding 2,105 records against 1,317 at fifth place and 308 at tenth. The top 5 assignees together account for 21.1% of all 37,028 records in scope, and the top 10 for 30.7%, so concentration is meaningful at the very top but falls off quickly across the rest of the ranking. Most of the corpus sits outside these ranked leaders, spread across many smaller filers.
Is software architecture patent filing growing or shrinking?
Filings grew through the late 2010s to a peak of 1,279 in 2021, then declined to 911 by 2024, a -29% move over that three-year span. This should not be read as a permanent slowdown: 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete because of the roughly 18-month publication lag, and several of the largest recent-year drops among individual assignees may partly reflect that same lag rather than a real pullback.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Software Architecture Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.