PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

22ND Century Limited, Llc

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 51 granted patents across 13 technology areas, active 2015–2024. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: C12N (MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
51
Total patents granted
13
CPC technology areas
11.9
Avg claims per patent
-45%
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

22ND holds 51 US patents across 13 technology areas, rank #6,498 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#6,498
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 42%
by Innovation Score (37.9/100)
11.9
avg claims per patent
-45%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

22ND Century Limited, Llc has been granted 51 US utility patents between 2015 and 2024, placing 22ND Century Limited, Llc at rank #6,498 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 13 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 11.9 claims per patent with primary concentration in C12N (MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA). As a US Corporation, 22ND Century Limited, Llc is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, 22ND sits between The University Court Of The University Of Glasgow (52 patents, rank #6,494) and AST & Science, Llc (51 patents, rank #6,502) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 37.9/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 18 grants, compared with 33 in the 2015–2019 window, a -45% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. 22ND Century Limited, Llc's 11.9 average claims per patent suggests focused, narrowly drawn claims typical of single-invention filings, while concentration in 13 subclasses points to a focused technical program. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark 22ND Century Limited, Llc against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Who files at 22ND's volume?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus its nearest-ranked assignees by volume, this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows 22ND holds 51 patents at rank #6,498, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

Companies ranked near 22ND

By rank, the assignees closest to #6,498 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C12N (Microorganisms OR Enzymes)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in 22ND's primary technology class.

22ND's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

38 Top 42% higher than 58% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). This entry sits in this band. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). Above this entry. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). Above this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

051015 2015201620172018201920202021202220232024 3
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2024

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table
22ND Century Limited, Llc patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2015 9 17.6%
2016 2 3.9%
2017 6 11.8%
2018 11 21.6%
2019 5 9.8%
2020 5 9.8%
2021 4 7.8%
2022 1 2.0%
2023 5 9.8%
2024 3 5.9%

Which technologies does 22ND Century Limited, Llc patent most?

Top 13 of 13 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Light
Tech Breadth Focused
Claim Depth Simple
Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#6,498

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

37.9 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does 22ND Century Limited, Llc hold?
22ND Century Limited, Llc holds 51 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2024, spanning 13 technology areas.
What is 22ND Century Limited, Llc's Innovation Score?
22ND Century Limited, Llc has an Innovation Score of 37.9 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does 22ND Century Limited, Llc focus on?
22ND Century Limited, Llc's top technology area is C12N (MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA) with 50 patents. The company has filed patents in 13 CPC subclasses total.
Is 22ND Century Limited, Llc's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
22ND Century Limited, Llc's recent filing velocity is -45% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.
What does claim depth mean for 22ND Century Limited, Llc's patents?
22ND Century Limited, Llc's patents average 11.9 claims each. This is relatively simple claim structure, typical for focused inventions.
How is the 22ND Century Limited, Llc patent data sourced?
All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

22ND's 51 grants land it in the top 42% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

  • Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - 22ND ranks #6,498 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
  • Most of this portfolio concentrates in C12N - see who else leads that technology area. C12N leaders
  • Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page
  • USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
  • Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
  • USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.