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CPC technology class · C01

C01B - Non-metallic Elements

Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof; ; metalloids or compounds thereof not covered by subclass c01c. 20,252 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

20,252
US patents granted
C01
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+13%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Non-metallic Elements ranks #102 of 670 CPC technology areas - 20,252 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 13% over five years.

#102
of 670 CPC technology areas
20,252
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Saudi Arabian Oil
leading assignee (357)
+13%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Saudi Arabian OIL Company (357 patents)

CPC subclass C01B - NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C - covers 20,252 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C01 (INORGANIC CHEMISTRY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C01B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads with 357 patents, followed by BASF SE at 216 grants and L'air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour L'etude Et L'exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude at 172.

Filing activity in C01B is up 13% 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 C01B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C01B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 13% versus 2015–2019.

1,2001,4001,6001,8002,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,365

Who leads C01B?

The 12 most active assignees in NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Saudi Arabian Oil is the most active filer in C01B, holding 357 of the 20,252 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 C01B
Rank Company Patents in C01B
#1 Saudi Arabian OIL Company 357
#2 BASF SE 216
#3 L'air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour L'etude Et L'exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude 172
#4 Chevron U.s.a. Inc. 159
#5 Tsinghua University 150
#6 HON HAI Precision Industry Co., Ltd. 135
#7 KING FAHD University OF Petroleum AND Minerals 131
#8 Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company 116
#9 Wacker Chemie Ag 116
#10 Centre National DE LA Recherche Scientifique 112
#11 Haldor Topsøe A/s 107
#12 UOP Llc 99
#13 Shin-etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. 96
#14 Korea Institute OF Science AND Technology 94
#15 Praxair Technology, Inc. 91
#16 Johnson Matthey Public Limited Company 88
#17 Northwestern University 82
#18 LG Energy Solution, Ltd. 77
#19 National Institute Of Advanced Industrial Science And Technology 74
#20 Tokuyama Corporation 74

About This Class

CPC subclass C01B belongs to class C01.

20,252 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 C01B 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 C01B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C01B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 101214161820 0100200300400 Patents in C01B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Saudi Arabian OilBasf SeL'air Liquide Societe…Chevron UTsinghua UniversityHon Hai Precision Ind…King Fahd University…Exxonmobil Research A…Wacker ChemieCentre National De La…Haldor TopsØE A/SUopShin-etsu ChemicalKorea Institute Of Sc…
Top 14 C01B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C01B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C01B?
CPC subclass C01B covers NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C. It belongs to CPC class C01 (INORGANIC CHEMISTRY), with 20,252 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C01B?
20,252 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C01B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C01B?
Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads C01B with 357 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C01B 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., C01) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C01B 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.