PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A01

A01N - Preservation Of Bodies Of Humans Or Animals Or Plants Or…

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. 13,786 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

13,786
US patents granted
#1/12
in A01
21.8%
A01 class share
-16%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Preservation Of Bodies Of Humans Or Animals Or Plants Or… ranks #140 of 670 CPC technology areas - 13,786 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 16% over five years.

#140
of 670 CPC technology areas
13,786
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Basf Se
leading assignee (420)
-16%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A01N's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A01N recorded 5,469 grants versus 6,492 in 2015–2019 (-16% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2017 at 1,355 grants and bottomed in 2022 at 978 (+39% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Basf SE holds 3.0% of the class ; the top three share 8.6%.

Leaderboard read

A01N concentration, lead at 3.0%

Basf SE leads this historical grant record at 3.0% of A01N - us corporation assignees hold 50% of class grants (4,569 of 9,048). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
3.0%

420 of 13,786 grants

Top three share
8.6%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
27

more grants than Syngenta Participations AG

Where A01N sits inside A01

Among 12 subclasses in A01 (AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; Animal HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; Fishing), A01N ranks #1 and holds 21.8% of the parent class's 63,372 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A01H 12,482 A01K 10,071 A01G 6,293 A01D 5,886 A01B 4,498 A01C 3,761 A01M 3,032 A01F 1,791

Rising assignees active in A01N

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 King Faisal University 125x 6 → 747 company-wide · 60 in A01N
  2. #2 Locus Solutions Ipco, LLC 35x 0 → 35 company-wide · 6 in A01N
  3. #3 Seed Health, Inc. 24x 0 → 24 company-wide · 5 in A01N
  4. #4 Lanxess Corporation 18x 1 → 18 company-wide · 5 in A01N
  5. #5 Specialty Operations France 14x 0 → 14 company-wide · 7 in A01N

A01N grants by year, peak 2017 (1,355)

US utility-patent grants per year in A01N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 16% versus 2015–2019.

8001,0001,2001,400 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 831

Who leads A01N?

The 12 most active assignees in 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 - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Basf Se is the most active filer in A01N, holding 420 of the 13,786 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A01N
Rank Company Patents in A01N
#1 Basf SE 420
#2 Syngenta Participations AG 393
#3 Bayer Cropscience Aktiengesellschaft 378
#4 DOW Agrosciences LLC 360
#5 Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited 306
#6 Monsanto Technology LLC 284
#7 Ecolab USA Inc. 230
#8 Bayer Intellectual Property GmbH 202
#9 FMC Corporation 115
#10 Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc. 98
#11 E.I. DU Pont DE Nemours AND Company 93
#12 Syngenta Crop Protection AG 93
#13 The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture 86
#14 UPL Ltd 75
#15 Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. 71
#16 Valent Biosciences LLC 67
#17 Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. 63
#18 Bayer Healthcare LLC 61
#19 King Faisal University 60
#20 Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH 53

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A01N assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A01N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A01N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0100200300400500 Patents in A01N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Basf SeSyngenta Participation…Bayer Cropscience…Dow AgrosciencesSumitomo ChemicalMonsanto TechnologyEcolab UsaBayer Intellectual…FmcPioneer Hi-bred…E I Du Pont De…Syngenta Crop…The United States of…Upl
Top 14 A01N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A01N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A01N's 13,786-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A01N (#140 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.0%) - not the A01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

F02M 13,937 C12P 13,948 B65H 13,990 A61Q 14,001

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C25D 3.1% C25C 3.1% C04B 3.0% C08K 3.0%

Questions about A01N

Which company holds the most patents in A01N?
Basf SE leads A01N with 420 patents (3.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 50% of class grants.
Which A01N assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A01N, King Faisal University shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (125x: 6 grants in 2019–2021 → 747 in 2022–2024) while holding 60 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A01N compare inside parent class A01?
Inside A01 (AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; Animal HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; Fishing), A01N ranks #1 of 12 subclasses by grant volume and holds 21.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A01H (12,482 grants).

What to do with this data

A01N in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A01N figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (13,786 grants in the tracked window).

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.