Research publications provide a guide to ionic liquid research per se, patents and their claims provide a commercial view of the technology. By looking at developments in ionic liquids through patent claims, a picture develops of where ionic liquid technology has moved from the laboratory into the commercial world. This article discusses how the commercialisation of ionic liquid technology can be analysed by tracking changes in the number of ionic liquid filings and the entities behind the filings, as well as developments in categories of claim (ionic liquids per se v. methods of using ionic liquids) and fields in which the patents are being filed.