For many years now, virus expression vectors have been explored as a mechanism for gene delivery, cancer therapy and vaccine development. More recently, the next generation of virus vectors have been generated that possess greater attributes such as tissue specificity and improved expression levels, while at the same time lack many of the shortcomings of their predecessors, such as issues regarding immunogenicity and safety. This review article describes several of the recent patents that have been issued in the field of virus expression vector development. Innovations in both plant and animal virus expression vectors are covered. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects of virus expression vectors as tools in medical research.