PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A23

A23K - Fodder

Fodder. 3,247 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

3,247
US patents granted
A23
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+14%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Fodder ranks #305 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,247 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 14% over five years.

#305
of 670 CPC technology areas
3,247
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Dsm Ip Assets B V
leading assignee (116)
+14%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: DSM IP Assets B.v. (116 patents)

CPC subclass A23K - FODDER - covers 3,247 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A23 (FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A23K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. DSM IP Assets B.v. leads with 116 patents, followed by Novozymes A/s at 85 grants and Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. at 77.

Filing activity in A23K is up 14% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A23K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A23K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 14% versus 2015–2019.

220240260280300320 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 225

Who leads A23K?

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

patents

What this shows Dsm Ip Assets B V is the most active filer in A23K, holding 116 of the 3,247 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 A23K
Rank Company Patents in A23K
#1 DSM IP Assets B.v. 116
#2 Novozymes A/s 85
#3 Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a. 77
#4 Purina Animal Nutrition Llc 70
#5 Nestec S.a. 52
#6 MARS, Incorporated 52
#7 Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. 48
#8 CJ Cheiljedang Corporation 40
#9 Commonwealth Scientific AND Industrial Research Organisation 38
#10 Dupont Nutrition Biosciences APS 32
#11 Monsanto Technology Llc 24
#12 Cargill, Incorporated 23
#13 Intron Biotechnology, Inc. 22
#14 Ceres, Inc. 19
#15 Ajinomoto Co., Inc. 18
#16 ICM, Inc. 18
#17 Novus International, Inc. 18
#18 Wenger Manufacturing Inc. 17
#19 Colgate-palmolive Company 16
#20 The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of Agriculture 15

About This Class

CPC subclass A23K belongs to class A23.

3,247 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A23K 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 A23K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A23K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 050100150 Patents in A23K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Dsm Ip Assets B VNovozymes A/SSociete des Produits…Purina Animal Nutriti…NestecMars IncorporatedHill's Pet NutritionCj CheiljedangCommonwealth Scientif…Dupont Nutrition Bios…Monsanto TechnologyCargill Incorporatedintron BiotechnologyCeres
Top 14 A23K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A23K?
CPC subclass A23K covers FODDER. It belongs to CPC class A23 (FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES), with 3,247 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A23K?
3,247 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A23K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A23K?
DSM IP Assets B.v. leads A23K with 116 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A23K collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A23) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A23K provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

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

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

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.