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CPC technology class · C02

C02F - Treatment OF Water

Treatment of water, waste water, sewage, or sludge. 14,501 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

14,501
US patents granted
C02
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+36%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Treatment OF Water ranks #129 of 670 CPC technology areas - 14,501 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 36% over five years.

#129
of 670 CPC technology areas
14,501
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ecolab Usa
leading assignee (243)
+36%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Ecolab USA Inc. (243 patents)

CPC subclass C02F - TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE - covers 14,501 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C02 (TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C02F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Ecolab USA Inc. leads with 243 patents, followed by KING FAHD University OF Petroleum AND Minerals at 188 grants and Evoqua Water Technologies Llc at 177.

Filing activity in C02F is up 36% 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 C02F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C02F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 36% versus 2015–2019.

8001,0001,2001,4001,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,063

Who leads C02F?

The 12 most active assignees in TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ecolab Usa is the most active filer in C02F, holding 243 of the 14,501 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 C02F
Rank Company Patents in C02F
#1 Ecolab USA Inc. 243
#2 KING FAHD University OF Petroleum AND Minerals 188
#3 Evoqua Water Technologies Llc 177
#4 Saudi Arabian OIL Company 147
#5 Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Support 82
#6 Kurita Water Industries Ltd. 80
#7 Nanjing University 75
#8 Kemira OYJ 55
#9 Tongji University 54
#10 King Technology, Inc. 52
#11 Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. 51
#12 King Abdulaziz University 50
#13 BL Technologies, Inc. 50
#14 Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University 45
#15 Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. 41
#16 KING SAUD University 40
#17 Gradiant Corporation 40
#18 Organo Corporation 39
#19 KING Faisal University 37
#20 Coway Co., Ltd. 34

About This Class

CPC subclass C02F belongs to class C02.

14,501 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 C02F 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 C02F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C02F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C02F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C02F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 681012141618 050100150200250300 Patents in C02F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Ecolab UsaKing Fahd University…Evoqua WaterSaudi Arabian OilVeolia Water Solution…Kurita Water Industri…Nanjing UniversityKemira OyjTongji UniversityKing TechnologyDoosan Heavy Industri…King Abdulaziz Univer…BlImam Abdulrahman Bin…
Top 14 C02F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C02F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C02F?
CPC subclass C02F covers TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE. It belongs to CPC class C02 (TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE), with 14,501 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C02F?
14,501 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C02F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C02F?
Ecolab USA Inc. leads C02F with 243 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C02F 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., C02) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C02F 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.