PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C08

C08K - Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances…

Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding ingredients. 28,505 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

28,505
US patents granted
#3/8
in C08
19.7%
C08 class share
+7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances… ranks #71 of 670 CPC technology areas - 28,505 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 7% over five years.

#71
of 670 CPC technology areas
28,505
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Lg Chem
leading assignee (865)
+7%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C08K's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C08K recorded 12,852 grants versus 11,985 in 2015–2019 (+7% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 2,860 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 2,077 (+38% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee LG Chem, Ltd. holds 3.0% of the class ; the top three share 6.5%.

Leaderboard read

C08K concentration, lead at 3.0%

LG Chem, Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 3.0% of C08K - foreign corporation assignees hold 69% of class grants (14,062 of 20,457). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
3.0%

865 of 28,505 grants

Top three share
6.5%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
352

more grants than DOW Global Technologies LLC

Where C08K sits inside C08

Among 8 subclasses in C08 (Organic Macromolecular COMPOUNDS; Their Preparation OR Chemical WORKING-UP; Compositions Based Thereon), C08K ranks #3 and holds 19.7% of the parent class's 144,472 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C08L 36,183 C08G 29,133 C08F 23,159 C08J 21,338 C08B 3,742 C08C 1,240 C08H 1,172

Rising assignees active in C08K

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Resonac Corporation 192x 0 → 192 company-wide · 40 in C08K
  2. #2 Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. 144x 0 → 144 company-wide · 7 in C08K
  3. #3 Totalenergies Onetech 65x 0 → 65 company-wide · 5 in C08K
  4. #4 Bmic LLC 35x 5 → 176 company-wide · 17 in C08K
  5. #5 SK Geo Centric Co., Ltd. 35x 0 → 35 company-wide · 6 in C08K

C08K grants by year, peak 2020 (2,860)

US utility-patent grants per year in C08K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 7% versus 2015–2019.

1,5002,0002,5003,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,676

Who leads C08K?

The 12 most active assignees in Use of inorganic or non-macromolecular organic substances as compounding ingredients - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Lg Chem is the most active filer in C08K, holding 865 of the 28,505 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 C08K
Rank Company Patents in C08K
#1 LG Chem, Ltd. 865
#2 DOW Global Technologies LLC 513
#3 3M Innovative Properties Company 485
#4 Basf SE 395
#5 Shin-etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. 352
#6 Bridgestone Corporation 318
#7 Sabic Global Technologies B.V. 308
#8 Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. 270
#9 Fujifilm Corporation 265
#10 Compagnie Generale DES Etablissements Michelin 225
#11 Zeon Corporation 217
#12 Toray Industries, Inc. 187
#13 The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. 187
#14 Borealis AG 183
#15 Rohm and Haas Company 181
#16 Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. 177
#17 Xerox Corporation 174
#18 Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation 172
#19 Henkel AG & Co. KGaA 164
#20 Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited 163

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C08K 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 C08K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C08K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 02004006008001000 Patents in C08K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Lg ChemDow Global3m Innovative…Basf SeShin-etsu ChemicalBridgestoneSabic Global B VSumitomo Rubber…FujifilmCompagnie Generale…ZeonToray IndustriesThe Yokohama RubberBorealis
Top 14 C08K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C08K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C08K's 28,505-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C08K (#71 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.0%) - not the C08 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C09K 29,124 C08G 29,133 F16H 27,860 B65D 29,449

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C04B 3.0% A01N 3.0% C25D 3.1% C25C 3.1%

Questions about C08K

Which company holds the most patents in C08K?
LG Chem, Ltd. leads C08K with 865 patents (3.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 69% of class grants.
Which C08K assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C08K, Resonac Corporation shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (192x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 192 in 2022–2024) while holding 40 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C08K compare inside parent class C08?
Inside C08 (Organic Macromolecular COMPOUNDS; Their Preparation OR Chemical WORKING-UP; Compositions Based Thereon), C08K ranks #3 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 19.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C08L (36,183 grants).

What to do with this data

C08K in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - C08K figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (28,505 grants in the tracked window).

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.