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 grant trajectory.
- 3,624
- US patents granted
- #4/8
- in C09
- 4.8%
- C09 class share
- -35%
- 5-yr velocity
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, Organic Dyes Or Closely-related Compounds For Producing Dyes ranks #291 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,624 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 35% over five years.
- #291
- of 670 CPC technology areas
- 3,624
- US patents granted, 2015–2025
- Fujifilm
- leading assignee (178)
- -35%
- grant velocity, last 5 yrs
How C09B's grant cadence moved
Between 2020–2024, C09B recorded 1,246 grants versus 1,921 in 2015–2019 (-35% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 412 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 199 (+107% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Merck Patent GmbH holds 3.4% of the class ; the top three share 6.5%.
Leaderboard read
C09B concentration, lead at 3.4%
Merck Patent GmbH leads this historical grant record at 3.4% of C09B - foreign corporation assignees hold 63% of class grants (916 of 1,463). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.
- Leader's share
- 3.4%
- Top three share
- 6.5%
- Lead over #2
- 66
125 of 3,624 grants
of the class's recorded grants
more grants than Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
Where C09B sits inside C09
Among 8 subclasses in C09 (DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; Natural RESINS; ADHESIVES; Compositions NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; Applications OF Materials NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), C09B ranks #4 and holds 4.8% of the parent class's 74,898 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.
Rising assignees active in C09B
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 Singular Genomics Systems, Inc. 12x 7 → 81 company-wide · 6 in C09B
- #2 TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. 7.42x 67 → 497 company-wide · 7 in C09B
- #3 E. &J. Gallo Winery 4.00x 6 → 24 company-wide · 6 in C09B
- #4 Sony Corporation OF America 3.54x 13 → 46 company-wide · 7 in C09B
- #5 Toyocolor Co., Ltd. 2.63x 8 → 21 company-wide · 7 in C09B
C09B grants by year, peak 2015 (412)
US utility-patent grants per year in C09B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 35% versus 2015–2019.
Who leads C09B?
The 12 most active assignees in Organic Dyes OR Closely-related Compounds FOR Producing Dyes ; , e.g. PIGMENTS; MORDANTS; Lakes - wider bars mean more grants
- Merck Patent
Merck Patent GmbH
125 patents
- Idemitsu Kosan
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
59 patents
- Life
Life Technologies Corporation
52 patents
- Milliken & 49
Milliken & Company
49 patents
- Nippon Kayaku 38
Nippon Kayaku Kabushiki Kaisha
38 patents
- Pacific Biosciences… 34
Pacific Biosciences OF California, Inc.
34 patents
- Udc Ireland 34
UDC Ireland Limited
34 patents
- Dic 33
DIC Corporation
33 patents
- Universal Display 28
Universal Display Corporation
28 patents
- Illumina Cambridge 27
Illumina Cambridge Limited
27 patents
- E Ink Holdings 23
E Ink Holdings Inc.
23 patents
- Dystar Colours… 22
Dystar Colours Distribution GMBH
22 patents
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
| 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 |
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.
Classes near C09B's 3,624-grant footprint
Nationwide nearest neighbors for C09B (#291 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.9%) - not the C09 parent-class siblings above.
Nearest by grant volume
Questions about C09B
Which company holds the most patents in C09B?
Which C09B assignees grew fastest recently?
How does C09B compare inside parent class C09?
What to do with this data
C09B in context - here's where to go next.
- Merck Patent GmbH leads C09B with 125 grants in this class. See full portfolio
- C09B ranks #291 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
- Inside parent class C09, the largest sibling subclass is C09K with 29,124 grants. Explore C09K
Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.
Methodology - C09B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,624 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.