USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

KAO Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 957 granted patents across 173 technology areas, active 2015–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: A61K (PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES).

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

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

957

Total patents granted

173

CPC technology areas

14.6

Avg claims per patent

+31%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

KAO holds 957 US patents across 173 technology areas, rank #464 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#464
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 2%
by Innovation Score (63.5/100): 14.6
avg claims per patent: +31%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

KAO Corporation has been granted 957 US utility patents between 2015 and 2025, placing KAO Corporation at rank #464 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 173 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 14.6 claims per patent with primary concentration in A61K (PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES). As a Foreign Corporation, KAO Corporation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, KAO sits between Ebara Corporation (983 patents, rank #460) and HAND HELD Products, Inc. (946 patents, rank #468) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 63.5/100 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 542 grants, compared with 415 in the 2015–2019 window, a +31% shift in five-year velocity. Steady filing volume suggests sustained innovation without dramatic pivots. 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. KAO Corporation's 14.6 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 KAO Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

Ebara

983
Foxconn Interconn…

974
Asustek Computer

970
Marvell World Tra…

967
Lenovo Enterprise…

957
KAO ◀

957
Korea University…

947
AAC Pte

946
HAND HELD Products

946

What this shows KAO holds 957 patents at rank #464, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near KAO

By rank, the assignees closest to #464 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in A61K (Preparations FOR Medical)

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

KAO's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

63 Top 2% higher than 98% 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

KAO Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	118	12.3%
2016	84	8.8%
2017	77	8.0%
2018	64	6.7%
2019	72	7.5%
2020	99	10.3%
2021	113	11.8%
2022	98	10.2%
2023	77	8.0%
2024	80	8.4%
2025	75	7.8%

Which technologies does KAO Corporation patent most?

A61K - PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES 279

A61Q - SPECIFIC USE OF COSMETICS OR SIMILAR TOILETRY PREPARATIONS 233

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 101

C08L - COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS 84

C11D - DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL 82

C07C - ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS 70

C12N - MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA 68

A61P - SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS 66

C08K - Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding ingredients 54

A61F - FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRS 54

B41M - PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING, 54

C12P - FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE 54

A23L - FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF 51

A45D - HAIRDRESSING OR SHAVING EQUIPMENT ; EQUIPMENT FOR COSMETICS OR COSMETIC TREATMENTS, e.g. FOR MANICURING OR PEDICURING 51

G03G - ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY 50

Top 15 of 173 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Growing

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#464

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

63.5 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 KAO Corporation hold?

KAO Corporation holds 957 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2025, spanning 173 technology areas.

What is KAO Corporation's Innovation Score?

KAO Corporation has an Innovation Score of 63.5 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does KAO Corporation focus on?

KAO Corporation's top technology area is A61K (PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES) with 279 patents. The company has filed patents in 173 CPC subclasses total.

Is KAO Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

KAO Corporation's recent filing velocity is +31% compared to the prior five-year period. The company is maintaining or growing its patent output.

What does claim depth mean for KAO Corporation's patents?

KAO Corporation's patents average 14.6 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the KAO Corporation 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

KAO's 957 grants land it in the top 2% 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 - KAO ranks #464 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in A61K - see who else leads that technology area. A61K 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.