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CPC technology class · B01

B01J - Chemical OR Physical Processes

Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus. 35,809 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

35,809
US patents granted
B01
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Chemical OR Physical Processes ranks #47 of 670 CPC technology areas - 35,809 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 6% over five years.

#47
of 670 CPC technology areas
35,809
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Basf Se
leading assignee (754)
+6%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: BASF SE (754 patents)

CPC subclass B01J - CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS - covers 35,809 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B01 (PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B01J is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. BASF SE leads with 754 patents, followed by Saudi Arabian OIL Company at 614 grants and LG CHEM, Ltd. at 538.

Filing activity in B01J is up 6% 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 B01J innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B01J, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 6% versus 2015–2019.

1,5002,0002,5003,0003,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,951

Who leads B01J?

The 12 most active assignees in CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Basf Se is the most active filer in B01J, holding 754 of the 35,809 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 B01J
Rank Company Patents in B01J
#1 BASF SE 754
#2 Saudi Arabian OIL Company 614
#3 LG CHEM, Ltd. 538
#4 UOP Llc 465
#5 Chevron Phillips Chemical Company Lp 446
#6 Exxonmobil Chemical Patents Inc. 403
#7 KING FAHD University OF Petroleum AND Minerals 351
#8 IFP Energies Nouvelles 350
#9 Johnson Matthey Public Limited Company 346
#10 Chevron U.s.a. Inc. 284
#11 DOW Global Technologies Llc 271
#12 Sabic Global Technologies B.v. 230
#13 Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company 226
#14 Shell OIL Compny 214
#15 NGK Insulators, Ltd. 213
#16 The Regents Of The University Of California 204
#17 China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation 196
#18 Centre National DE LA Recherche Scientifique 181
#19 Umicore Ag & Co. KG 174
#20 Haldor Topsøe A/s 157

About This Class

CPC subclass B01J belongs to class B01.

35,809 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 B01J 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 B01J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B01J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B01J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B01J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 0200400600800 Patents in B01J Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Basf SeSaudi Arabian OilLg ChemUopChevron Phillips Chem…Exxonmobil Chemical P…King Fahd University…Ifp Energies NouvellesJohnson Matthey PublicChevron UDow GlobalSabic Global B VExxonmobil Research A…Shell Oil Compny
Top 14 B01J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B01J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B01J?
CPC subclass B01J covers CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS. It belongs to CPC class B01 (PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL), with 35,809 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B01J?
35,809 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B01J between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B01J?
BASF SE leads B01J with 754 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B01J 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., B01) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B01J 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.