Where does Ecolab USA Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Ecolab USA Inc. ranks #265 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does Ecolab USA Inc. hold?

Ecolab USA Inc. holds 1,610 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 212 technology areas.

What is Ecolab USA Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Ecolab USA Inc. has an Innovation Score of 65.7 out of 100 (top 1% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

Is Ecolab USA Inc.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Ecolab USA Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -8% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Ecolab USA Inc.'s patents?

Ecolab USA Inc.'s patents average 17.2 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

How is the Ecolab USA Inc. 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.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Ecolab USA Inc.

Q: What technology areas does Ecolab USA Inc. focus on?

Ecolab USA Inc.'s top technology area is C11D (Detergent COMPOSITIONS; USE OF Single Substances AS DETERGENTS; Soap OR SOAP-MAKING; Resin SOAPS; Recovery OF Glycerol) with 535 patents. Grants appear in 212 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 1,610 granted patents across 212 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2025. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: C11D (Detergent COMPOSITIONS; USE OF Single Substances AS DETERGENTS; Soap OR SOAP-MAKING; Resin SOAPS; Recovery OF Glycerol).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Ecolab ranks #265 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 1,610 patents across 212 technology areas.

#265
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (65.7/100): 17.2
avg claims per patent: -8%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R265 · US Corporation #265 · 1,610 grants

GRANTS-LARGE · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-BROAD · INNOV-STRONG · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-FLAT · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-LARGE 1.6K grants
TOP-DECILE #265/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Nitto Denko
CPC-BROAD C11D · 212 areas
INNOV-STRONG 65.7/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.2 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-FLAT -8% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Nitto Denko Corporation (±2 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
East China Normal… · near

66
Ecolab USA · this assignee

66
Henkel & KGaA · near

66
Kyocera · near

66
Strong Force TX… · near

66
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Ecolab's Innovation Score is 65.7/100 (top 1% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

How Ecolab's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, Ecolab USA Inc. received 719 grants versus 782 in 2015–2019 (-8% equal-window velocity, above median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2019 at 201 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 108. Lead class C11D accounts for 33.2% of the portfolio across 212 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Rambus Inc. (#261) and Changxin Memory Technologies, Inc. (#269).

Ecolab's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Ecolab USA Inc. moved from 530 to 390 grants (0.74x the prior three-year total, a multiple, not a CAGR). Among 3,296 tracked assignees with ≥100 grants and ≥20 prior-period grants, that multiple ranks #2,033. See the growth leaderboard.

Rambus

1,626
Stryker

1,619
Lenovo (Beijing)

1,618
Hamamatsu Photoni…

1,615
Ecolab USA ◀

1,610
Nitto Denko

1,608
Kohler

1,594
Henkel & Kgaa

1,592
Changxin Memory

1,589

What this shows Ecolab holds 1,610 patents at rank #265, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Ecolab

By rank, the assignees closest to #265 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in C11D (Detergent Compositions)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Ecolab, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above).

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (66 here).

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA 66 Kyocera Corporation 66 Strong Force TX Portfolio 2018, LLC 66 East China Normal University 66

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.2 here).

Dover Europe Sàrl 17.2 avg Ecole Superieure DE Physique ET DE Chimie Industrielles DE LA Ville DE Paris 17.2 avg TomTom Navigation B.V. 17.2 avg Navico, Inc. 17.2 avg

Ecolab's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

66 Top 1% higher than 99% of 49,997 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

Ecolab USA Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	108	6.7%
2016	140	8.7%
2017	165	10.2%
2018	168	10.4%
2019	201	12.5%
2020	194	12.0%
2021	135	8.4%
2022	126	7.8%
2023	127	7.9%
2024	137	8.5%
2025partial year	109	6.8%

Which technologies does Ecolab USA Inc. patent most?

C11D - Detergent COMPOSITIONS; USE OF Single Substances AS DETERGENTS; Soap OR SOAP-MAKING; Resin SOAPS; Recovery OF Glycerol 535

C02F - Treatment OF Water, Waste Water, Sewage, OR Sludge 243

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 230

C09K - Materials FOR Miscellaneous Applications, NOT Provided FOR Elsewhere 158

B08B - Cleaning IN GENERAL; Prevention OF Fouling IN General 152

G01N - Investigating OR Analysing Materials BY Determining Their Chemical OR Physical Properties 133

C07C - Acyclic OR Carbocyclic Compounds 126

A61L - Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects IN GENERAL; Disinfection, Sterilisation OR Deodorisation OF AIR; Chemical Aspects OF Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical ARTICLES; Materials FOR Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical Articles 121

A47L - Domestic Washing OR Cleaning ; Suction Cleaners IN General 106

B01D - Separation 97

C23F - Non-mechanical Removal OF Metallic Material From Surface ; Inhibiting Corrosion OF Metallic Material OR Incrustation IN GENERAL; Multi-step Processes FOR Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material Involving AT Least ONE Process Provided FOR IN Class C23 AND AT Least ONE Process Covered BY Subclass C21d 83

C10G - Cracking Hydrocarbon OILS; Production OF Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixtures, e.g. BY Destructive Hydrogenation, Oligomerisation, Polymerisation ; Recovery OF Hydrocarbon Oils From Oil-shale, Oil-sand, OR GASES; Refining Mixtures Mainly Consisting OF HYDROCARBONS; Reforming OF NAPHTHA; Mineral Waxes 82

C08F - Macromolecular Compounds Obtained BY Reactions Only Involving Carbon-to-carbon Unsaturated Bonds 69

D21H - Pulp COMPOSITIONS; Preparation Thereof NOT Covered BY Subclasses D21c OR D21D; Impregnating OR Coating OF PAPER; Treatment OF Finished Paper NOT Covered BY Class B31 OR Subclass D21G; Paper NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 64

B01J - Chemical OR Physical Processes, e.g. Catalysis OR Colloid CHEMISTRY; Their Relevant Apparatus 61

Top 15 of 212 technology areas

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#265

of 49,997 tracked assignees

Innovation Score

65.7 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

Ecolab USA Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Ecolab USA Inc.'s lead technology class is C11D (Detergent COMPOSITIONS; USE OF Single Substances AS DETERGENTS; Soap OR SOAP-MAKING; Resin SOAPS; Recovery OF Glycerol), 33.2% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore C11D
Ranked #265 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Ecolab USA Inc. against Rambus Inc., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 65.7/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

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

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 by PlainPatent, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · 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.