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The Extended Reality (XR) sector is entering a new phase of commercial maturity, with patent activity remaining robust despite slowing growth, shows Marks & Clerks' latest XR Patent Trends Report.
While XR patent filings remain high by historical standards, growth has cooled since the Metaverse-driven surge. European XR patent publications fell 13% between 2021 and 2025, while international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) publications declined by 5% over the same period. The findings suggest the market looks to be shifting from rapid expansion to a greater commercial focus, and broader industry adoption.
Key trends from the report include:
- XR innovation remains strong, but growth has cooled – indicating a movement from ‘hype‘ to a more mature phase of commercial innovation
- Smaller innovators are now driving the sector – start-ups, universities, spin-outs and specialist companies play an increasingly influential role, accounting for more patent filings than larger companies
- Innovation continues to expand beyond gaming and the Metaverse into industries including telecommunications, healthcare, automotive, aviation and entertainment, demonstrating broad commercial potential
- Innovation is shifting from hardware to real-world applications and user experience - technologies such as eye and gaze tracking, human-computer interaction, image analysis, object recognition and haptic feedback are seeing the strongest patent activity, reflecting growing emphasis on AI-enabled experiences and immersive digital applications
- Continued global investment in XR technologies - the US maintains its position as the leading source of XR patent filings, particularly for international PCT applications. China has strengthened its position, overtaking Japan as the second-largest source of XR filings at the European Patent Office
Graham McGlashan, a partner specialising in the technology at Marks & Clerk, said:
“The findings suggest XR is evolving into a more mature technology sector. No longer is it in an era dominated by hardware but by one now characterised by broader commercial adoption, diversified applications, and continued innovation across the global ecosystem. The range of industrial sectors represented in the data is notable, indicating that XR technologies have the potential to bring improvements to many different applications, and despite the strength of big tech companies, small filers have emerged as the dominant drivers of XR innovation as measured by both European and PCT (worldwide) Patent publications.
We wanted to revisit our original report from 2022 to see how much of the excitement and interest from four years ago has translated into (non-virtual) reality. This diversity of innovation highlighted four years on, bodes well for the resilience of the sector going forward.
When protecting intellectual assets, there is no substitute for experience. Marks & Clerk has handled over 2,200 XR related European Patent applications published between 2021 and 2025, more than any other IP firm active before the European Patent Office."
This second XR report provides an in-depth analysis of innovation activity across the XR sector, examining patent filing trends, emerging technology areas and significant advances in the sector.
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