PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61Q - Specific USE OF Cosmetics OR Similar Toiletry Preparations

Specific use of cosmetics or similar toiletry preparations. 14,001 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

14,001
US patents granted
A61
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Specific USE OF Cosmetics OR Similar Toiletry Preparations ranks #136 of 670 CPC technology areas - 14,001 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 5% over five years.

#136
of 670 CPC technology areas
14,001
US patents granted, 2015–2025
L'oreal
leading assignee (1,232)
+5%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: L'oreal (1,232 patents)

CPC subclass A61Q - SPECIFIC USE OF COSMETICS OR SIMILAR TOILETRY PREPARATIONS - covers 14,001 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 A61Q is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. L'oreal leads with 1,232 patents, followed by The Procter & Gamble Company at 873 grants and Colgate-palmolive Company at 595.

Filing activity in A61Q is up 5% 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 A61Q innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A61Q, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 5% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,4001,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 780

Who leads A61Q?

The 12 most active assignees in SPECIFIC USE OF COSMETICS OR SIMILAR TOILETRY PREPARATIONS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows L'oreal is the most active filer in A61Q, holding 1,232 of the 14,001 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 A61Q
Rank Company Patents in A61Q
#1 L'oreal 1,232
#2 The Procter & Gamble Company 873
#3 Colgate-palmolive Company 595
#4 Henkel Ag & Co. Kgaa 415
#5 Conopco, Inc. 269
#6 MARY KAY Inc 242
#7 KAO Corporation 233
#8 Amorepacific Corporation 193
#9 Shiseido Company, Limited 162
#10 Symrise Ag 155
#11 Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. 153
#12 Firmenich Sa 124
#13 ELC Management Llc 109
#14 DSM IP Assets B.v. 93
#15 ISP Investments Llc 86
#16 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. 79
#17 Avon Products, Inc. 79
#18 Allergan, Inc. 68
#19 Givaudan Sa 67
#20 LG Household & Health Care Ltd. 61

About This Class

CPC subclass A61Q belongs to class A61.

14,001 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 A61Q 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 A61Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A61Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 050010001500 Patents in A61Q Avg claims / patent (company-wide) L'orealThe Procter & GambleColgate-palmoliveHenkel & KgaaConopcoMary KayKaoAmorepacificShiseidoSymriseJohnson & Johnson Con…FirmenichElc ManagementDsm Ip Assets B V
Top 14 A61Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A61Q?
CPC subclass A61Q covers SPECIFIC USE OF COSMETICS OR SIMILAR TOILETRY PREPARATIONS. It belongs to CPC class A61 (MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE), with 14,001 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A61Q?
14,001 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A61Q between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A61Q?
L'oreal leads A61Q with 1,232 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A61Q 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 A61Q 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.