IFI CLAIMS
IFI CLAIMS operates CLAIMS Direct, a curated global patent database covering 180M+ records across 105+ countries, serving IP legal teams, financial analysts, AI developers, and corporate R&D via subscription data feeds, APIs, and reseller licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1955
- HeadquartersMadison, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What IFI CLAIMS does
IFI CLAIMS Patent Services is a U.S.-headquartered patent data company founded in 1955 and headquartered in Madison, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Digital Science since the 2021 full acquisition (Digital Science had invested in 2017, and prior to that Fairview Research acquired the company from Wolters Kluwer in 2010). The company operates a global patent database platform serving IP legal teams, financial analysts, corporate R&D, AI/ML developers, and consultants. Its core technology centers on the CLAIMS Direct platform, which normalizes patent data from 100+ global sources into a proprietary standardized format, applies algorithmic quality validation before publication, and pushes 1-3 million record updates per week simultaneously to all client databases worldwide. Coverage spans 180M+ patent records across 105+ countries with bibliographic data and 62 countries with full-text content, supplemented by machine-language translations, calculated expiration dates, legal status tracking, and corporate name mapping under the IFI Names service.
IFI's product portfolio layers on the CLAIMS Direct foundation: IFI Snapshots delivers pre-processed patent metrics (publication type, status, expiration, ownership, claims summaries) across 154.7 million publications from 12 patent authorities; Litigation Data adds MaxVal-powered global litigation intelligence covering nine major jurisdictions; and CLAIMS Direct Deployment offers both cloud-hosted (IFI-managed) and on-premise (self-hosted) options for privacy-sensitive clients. The platform exposes HTTP REST Web Services so customers can integrate patent data into ML environments, analytics platforms, and internal data lakes. Revenue is generated through annual subscriptions with flexible licensing for reseller/embedding use, no volume limits or metering, and quote-based pricing; named customers span a startup (Moat Metrics), an enterprise consultancy (Erre Quadro), and an IP legal services firm (RightHub), while the data reseller channel feeds major downstream platforms including Google Patents, Questel/Orbit, and STN.
IFI CLAIMS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- IFI CLAIMS
- Legal name
- IFI CLAIMS Patent Services
- Website
- https://ificlaims.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1955
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- IFI CLAIMS operates CLAIMS Direct, a curated global patent database covering 180M+ records across 105+ countries, serving IP legal teams, financial analysts, AI developers, and corporate R&D via subscription data feeds, APIs, and reseller licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where IFI CLAIMS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Madison
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
IFI CLAIMS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Data Subscription Services: IFI provides patent data subscriptions suitable for data use cases and unique requirements. Subscriptions include access to CLAIMS Direct platform with various service levels containing name standardization, expiration dates, patent status, and claims summaries. Different license types provide flexibility for reselling the data and the number of countries to which clients need access. No volume limits, transactional charges, or metering assessments are imposed.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Cloud Hosting - Managed hosting with quick setup |
| Subscription | Annual | On-site Deployment - Self-hosted database with automated updates |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
IFI CLAIMS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
IFI CLAIMS produces and licenses high-quality, standardized global patent data delivered through its CLAIMS Direct platform. It aggregates 180M+ patent records from 100+ sources across 105+ countries, normalizes them into a proprietary format, and delivers real-time synchronized data via REST web services for AI, analytics, financial, legal, and consulting use cases.
Product overview
IFI CLAIMS offers a unified platform-plus-modules portfolio anchored by CLAIMS Direct, the core global patent database. CLAIMS Direct is complemented by five named add-on modules: IFI Names (corporate name mapping and standardization), IFI Snapshots (pre-processed patent document metrics across 12 authorities), Data Coverage (enrichments including translations, expiration dates, citations, and families), CLAIMS Direct Deployment (cloud and on-premise hosting options), and Litigation Data (MaxVal-powered global litigation intelligence add-on). A free sub-brand product, Live 1000, provides a weekly-updated ranking of the top 1,000 US patent applicants.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CLAIMS Direct IFI's flagship global patent database platform with an extensible architecture that draws upon over 100 global data sources, normalizing patent data into a proprietary ideal format, with automatic real-time updates delivered simultaneously to all client databases worldwide. Provides web services for structured text search, validation, citation and family retrieval, status checking, and data export. For data scientists, developers, and enterprises integrating patent data into applications, analytics, and machine learning environments.
- Data Coverage IFI's data collection spanning 105+ countries with bibliographic data and 62 countries with full-text patent coverage, totaling over 180 million patent records. Includes value-added services such as machine language translations, calculated expiration dates, legal status information, attachment retrieval, citation service, patent family service, and corporate name mappings.
- IFI Names Corporate name mapping service that normalizes, standardizes, and harmonizes company name variations on patent documents. Maps original owners, current owners after mergers/acquisitions, and ultimate parent owners. Identifies over 2,000 name variations for a single company such as IBM and provides standardized, searchable names linked via tickers or UCIDs.
- IFI Snapshots Pre-processed patent metrics delivered across 154.7 million publications spanning 12 patent authorities (US, Japan, China, Great Britain, EPO, WIPO, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, South Korea, and Australia). Provides publication type, patent status, expiration dates, ownership details, and claims summaries.
- CLAIMS Direct Deployment Flexible subscription options including cloud hosting (IFI-managed) and on-site/on-premise deployment (self-hosted data center). No volume limits, transactional charges, or metering assessments. On-site deployment supports automated updates and direct sync of the CLAIMS Direct XML database into in-house systems.
- Litigation Data Global patent litigation data add-on built on MaxVal Global Litigation Data. Provides worldwide coverage including US, China, France, Germany, Japan, UK, Netherlands, Canada, and South Korea. Includes patent references, case details, outcomes, and party data for identifying valuable patents, tracking companies in conflict, and supporting competitive intelligence and valuation.
- Live 1000 Free weekly-updated ranking of the top 1,000 US patent applicants, providing the current innovation landscape through real-time applicant tracking.
Quantifiable outcome
- 180M+ patent records maintained with 105+ countries coverage
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use IFI CLAIMS
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
IFI CLAIMS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature9 records
IFI CLAIMS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- MaxVal GroupcoreMaxVal Group provides Global Litigation Data that IFI offers as an add-on subscription. The litigation data subscription provides unique competitive intelligence and valuation metrics for tracking patent assets and parties mentioned in court actions.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
IFI CLAIMS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Questel: Questel operates the Orbit platform backed by its Fampat patent database, offering patent search, mapping, watching, archiving, and portfolio analytics. Questel is a direct competitor to IFI in serving IP legal and corporate IP departments, and is also an IFI distribution partner.
- LexisNexis PatentAdvisor: LexisNexis IP (PatentAdvisor) provides patent analytics, prosecution history, and litigation data to patent attorneys and law firms. It overlaps with IFI on patent data, ownership mapping, and litigation intelligence use cases.
- Google Patents: Google Patents provides free global patent search, full-text retrieval, and a Prior Art Finder. It is both a competitor (free alternative) and an IFI distribution partner via Google Patents' data infrastructure.
- Clarivate (Derwent): Clarivate's Derwent World Patents Index is the largest curated patent database globally, competing directly with IFI CLAIMS on enhanced patent data, family intelligence, and citation analytics for enterprise and IP legal customers. Like IFI, it sells standardized, enriched patent records via subscription and integrates with IP workflow software.
Emerging players
- IPRally: IPRally applies knowledge graphs and supervised deep learning to patent prior-art and validity searches. It is an emerging AI-native alternative to traditional patent-data providers like IFI and an IFI distribution partner.
Direct peers
- Gridlogics (PatSnap Analytics): Gridlogics provides patent analytics, mapping, and portfolio visualization tools integrated with patent databases. It competes with IFI's Snapshots and data-coverage products for enterprise IP analytics use cases.
- Minesoft: Minesoft provides patent search, monitoring, and analytics solutions to IP professionals and corporations, including translation services and citation tracking — directly comparable to IFI's patent data and watch offerings.
- Relecura: Relecura offers patent analytics, portfolio valuation, and technology landscape tools powered by curated patent data. It competes with IFI in serving corporate IP, R&D strategy, and technology intelligence buyers.
- Patsnap: Patsnap is a global patent analytics platform combining patent data with AI-driven search, competitive intelligence, and R&D analytics. It competes with IFI in serving corporate IP, R&D, and financial-services customers with enriched patent datasets.
Others
- WIPO PATENTSCOPE: WIPO's PATENTSCOPE is a free international patent search and translation platform covering PCT applications and many national collections. It is an open-data alternative rather than a commercial competitor, but constrains IFI's ability to monetize coverage of international filings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
IFI CLAIMS social profiles
Digital presenceIFI CLAIMS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
IFI CLAIMS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
IFI CLAIMS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
IFI CLAIMS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about IFI CLAIMS
What does IFI CLAIMS do?
IFI CLAIMS produces and licenses high-quality, standardized global patent data delivered through its CLAIMS Direct platform. It aggregates 180M+ patent records from 100+ sources across 105+ countries, normalizes them into a proprietary format, and delivers real-time synchronized data via REST web services for AI, analytics, financial, legal, and consulting use cases.
Is IFI CLAIMS a public or private company?
IFI CLAIMS is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was IFI CLAIMS founded?
IFI CLAIMS was founded in 1955. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is IFI CLAIMS based?
IFI CLAIMS is headquartered in Madison, United States, in the North America region.
How does IFI CLAIMS make money?
One revenue line is on record: data Subscription Services.
Who are IFI CLAIMS's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Questel, LexisNexis PatentAdvisor, Google Patents and Clarivate (Derwent). IPRally is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Gridlogics (PatSnap Analytics), Minesoft, Relecura and Patsnap. WIPO PATENTSCOPE is listed as an others.
Does IFI CLAIMS have an API?
Yes. The CLAIMS Direct platform exposes HTTP REST Web Services. Using these web services, users can connect data relative to their needs in tandem with patent data. Available capabilities include: structured text search, validating internal data and linking to public records, finding patent family members and citations, checking current status, expiry, and ownership, and exporting select data into CSV format. The platform is extensible and integrates with internal datasets. All client databases across the globe continually ping the primary database; when updates are made, all client databases receive the correction automatically.