CPC technology class · C09

C09B - Organic DYES OR Closely-related Compounds FOR Producing DYES

Organic dyes or closely-related compounds for producing dyes ; , e.g. pigments; mordants; lakes. 3,624 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

3,624
US patents granted: C09
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: -27%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Organic DYES OR Closely-related Compounds FOR Producing DYES ranks #291 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,624 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 27% over five years.

#291
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,624
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Fujifilm
leading assignee (178): -27%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (178 patents)

CPC subclass C09B - ORGANIC DYES OR CLOSELY-RELATED COMPOUNDS FOR PRODUCING DYES ; , e.g. PIGMENTS; MORDANTS; LAKES - covers 3,624 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C09 (DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C09B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Fujifilm Corporation leads with 178 patents, followed by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. at 59 grants and Life Technologies Corporation at 52.

Filing activity in C09B is down 27% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C09B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C09B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 27% versus 2015–2019.

Merck Patent

125
Idemitsu Kosan

59
Life

52
Milliken &

49
Nippon Kayaku

38
Pacific Biosciences O…

34
Udc Ireland

34
Dic

33
Universal Display

28
Illumina Cambridge

27
E Ink Holdings

23
Dystar Colours Distri…

22

What this shows Fujifilm is the most active filer in C09B, holding 178 of the 3,624 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass C09B
Rank	Company	Patents in C09B
#1	Merck Patent Gmbh	125
#2	Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.	59
#3	Life Technologies Corporation	52
#4	Milliken & Company	49
#5	Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha	38
#6	Pacific Biosciences OF California, Inc.	34
#7	UDC Ireland Limited	34
#8	DIC Corporation	33
#9	Universal Display Corporation	28
#10	Illumina Cambridge Limited	27
#11	E Ink Holdings Inc.	23
#12	Dystar Colours Distribution Gmbh	22
#13	Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals MFG. Co., Ltd.	20
#14	Cheil Industries Inc.	18
#15	Sirigen II Limited	18
#16	Adeka Corporation	17
#17	Promega Corporation	17
#18	SFC Co., Ltd.	15
#19	Wista Laboratories Ltd.	15
#20	Polatechno Co., Ltd.	15

About This Class

CPC subclass C09B belongs to class C09.

3,624 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 C09B 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 C09B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C09B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C09B?

CPC subclass C09B covers ORGANIC DYES OR CLOSELY-RELATED COMPOUNDS FOR PRODUCING DYES ; , e.g. PIGMENTS; MORDANTS; LAKES. It belongs to CPC class C09 (DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR), with 3,624 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in C09B?

3,624 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C09B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in C09B?

Fujifilm Corporation leads C09B with 178 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for C09B 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., C09) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C09B 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.