PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61L - Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects…

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. 25,308 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

25,308
US patents granted
A61
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+20%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects… ranks #81 of 670 CPC technology areas - 25,308 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 20% over five years.

#81
of 670 CPC technology areas
25,308
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Procter & Gamble
leading assignee (378)
+20%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company (378 patents)

CPC subclass 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 - covers 25,308 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A61L is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Procter & Gamble Company leads with 378 patents, followed by Ethicon, Inc. at 277 grants and Abbott Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. at 252.

Filing activity in A61L is up 20% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A61L innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A61L, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 20% versus 2015–2019.

1,6001,8002,0002,2002,4002,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,718

Who leads A61L?

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

patents

What this shows The Procter & Gamble is the most active filer in A61L, holding 378 of the 25,308 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 A61L
Rank Company Patents in A61L
#1 The Procter & Gamble Company 378
#2 Ethicon, Inc. 277
#3 Abbott Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. 252
#4 Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. 240
#5 Covidien Lp 174
#6 Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. 167
#7 Depuy Synthes Products, Inc. 161
#8 W.l. Gore & Associates Gmbh 146
#9 University Of Pittsburgh—of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education 135
#10 Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha 126
#11 Ecolab USA Inc. 121
#12 The Board Of Regents Of The University Of Texas System 107
#13 KCI Licensing, Inc. 104
#14 S. C. Johnson & SON, Inc. 104
#15 COOK Medical Technologies Llc 95
#16 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation 95
#17 Medtronic Vascular, Inc. 95
#18 Smith & Nephew, Inc. 91
#19 Becton, Dickinson And Company 86
#20 Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. 84

About This Class

CPC subclass A61L belongs to class A61.

25,308 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 A61L 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 A61L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A61L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0100200300400 Patents in A61L Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Procter & GambleEthiconAbbott Cardiovascular…Boston Scientific Sci…CovidienWarsaw OrthopedicDepuy Synthes ProductsW L Gore & AssociatesUniversity of Pittsbu…TerumoEcolab UsaThe Board of Regents…Kci LicensingS C Johnson & Son
Top 14 A61L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A61L?
CPC subclass A61L covers 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. It belongs to CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE), with 25,308 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A61L?
25,308 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A61L between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A61L?
The Procter & Gamble Company leads A61L with 378 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A61L 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., A61) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A61L 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.