USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

BASF SE

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 4,191 granted patents across 302 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B01J (CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

4,191

Total patents granted

302

CPC technology areas

16.1

Avg claims per patent

-25%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

BASF holds 4,191 US patents across 302 technology areas, rank #82 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#82
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (68.0/100): 16.1
avg claims per patent: -25%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

BASF SE has been granted 4,191 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing BASF SE at rank #82 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 302 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 16.1 claims per patent with primary concentration in B01J (CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS). As a Foreign Corporation, BASF SE is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, BASF sits between Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (4,378 patents, rank #78) and United Technologies Corporation (4,091 patents, rank #86) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 68.0/100 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 1,798 grants, compared with 2,393 in the 2015–2019 window, a -25% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The Foreign 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. BASF SE's 16.1 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a diversified footprint across 100+ CPC subclasses spreads risk across many technology fronts. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark BASF SE against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Sumitomo Electric…

4,378
Guangdong OPPO Mo…

4,374
Commissariat A L'…

4,218
ZTE

4,193
BASF SE ◀

4,191
Caterpillar

4,178
Konica Minolta

4,158
Kyocera

4,151
United

4,091

What this shows BASF holds 4,191 patents at rank #82, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near BASF

By rank, the assignees closest to #82 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B01J (Chemical OR Physical Processes)

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

BASF's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

68 Top 1% higher than 99% of 50,000 US assignees

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

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

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

View data table

BASF SE patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	590	14.1%
2016	477	11.4%
2017	468	11.2%
2018	400	9.5%
2019	458	10.9%
2020	400	9.5%
2021	361	8.6%
2022	305	7.3%
2023	227	5.4%
2024	297	7.1%
2025	208	5.0%

Which technologies does BASF SE patent most?

B01J - CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS 754

C07C - ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS 654

C08G - MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS 646

C07D - HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS 526

C08L - COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS 476

C08F - MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS 448

B01D - SEPARATION 445

A01N - PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF ; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES ; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS 420

C08K - Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding ingredients 395

C09D - COATING COMPOSITIONS, e.g. PAINTS, VARNISHES OR LACQUERS; FILLING PASTES; CHEMICAL PAINT OR INK REMOVERS; INKS; CORRECTING FLUIDS; WOODSTAINS; PASTES OR SOLIDS FOR COLOURING OR PRINTING; USE OF MATERIALS THEREFOR 383

C08J - WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H 330

Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION 301

Y02P - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS 251

C09K - MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE 231

A61K - PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES 221

Top 15 of 302 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Strong

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#82

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

68.0 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 BASF SE hold?

BASF SE holds 4,191 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 302 technology areas.

What is BASF SE's Innovation Score?

BASF SE has an Innovation Score of 68.0 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does BASF SE focus on?

BASF SE's top technology area is B01J (CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS) with 754 patents. The company has filed patents in 302 CPC subclasses total.

Is BASF SE's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

BASF SE's recent filing velocity is -25% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for BASF SE's patents?

BASF SE's patents average 16.1 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the BASF SE 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

BASF's 4,191 grants land it in the top 1% 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 - BASF ranks #82 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in B01J - see who else leads that technology area. B01J 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

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

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.