PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C09

C09C - Treatment Of Inorganic Materials

Treatment of inorganic materials, other than fibrous fillers, to enhance their pigmenting or filling properties ; preparation of carbon black ; ; preparation of inorganic materials which are no single chemical compounds and which are mainly used as pigments or fillers. 2,483 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

2,483
US patents granted
#5/8
in C09
3.3%
C09 class share
-21%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Treatment Of Inorganic Materials ranks #345 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,483 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 21% over five years.

#345
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,483
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Omya International
leading assignee (169)
-21%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C09C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C09C recorded 966 grants versus 1,230 in 2015–2019 (-21% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2017 at 258 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 162 (+59% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Omya International AG holds 6.8% of the class ; the top three share 10.9%.

Leaderboard read

C09C concentration, lead at 6.8%

Omya International AG leads this historical grant record at 6.8% of C09C - foreign corporation assignees hold 65% of class grants (680 of 1,054). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
6.8%

169 of 2,483 grants

Top three share
10.9%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
116

more grants than Viavi Solutions Inc.

Where C09C 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), C09C ranks #5 and holds 3.3% 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.

C09K 29,124 C09D 27,394 C09J 11,139 C09B 3,624 C09G 1,039 C09F 77 C09H 18

Rising assignees active in C09C

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 Titan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha 5.00x 1 → 5 company-wide · 5 in C09C
  2. #2 Schaefer Kalk GmbH & Co. KG 4.00x 1 → 4 company-wide · 6 in C09C
  3. #3 Monolith Materials, Inc. 3.00x 5 → 15 company-wide · 24 in C09C
  4. #4 Tokuyama Corporation 1.94x 36 → 70 company-wide · 10 in C09C
  5. #5 Glycomimetics, Inc. 1.83x 6 → 11 company-wide · 6 in C09C

C09C grants by year, peak 2017 (258)

US utility-patent grants per year in C09C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 21% versus 2015–2019.

100150200250300 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 126

Who leads C09C?

The 12 most active assignees in Treatment OF Inorganic Materials, Other Than Fibrous Fillers, TO Enhance Their Pigmenting OR Filling Properties ; Preparation OF Carbon Black ; ; Preparation OF Inorganic Materials Which ARE NO Single Chemical Compounds AND Which ARE Mainly Used AS Pigments OR Fillers - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Omya International is the most active filer in C09C, holding 169 of the 2,483 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 C09C
Rank Company Patents in C09C
#1 Omya International AG 169
#2 Viavi Solutions Inc. 53
#3 Cabot Corporation 48
#4 Eckart GmbH 45
#5 Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. 24
#6 Monolith Materials, Inc. 24
#7 Rohm and Haas Company 17
#8 JGC Catalysts and Chemicals Ltd. 17
#9 Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Limited 16
#10 Lanxess Deutschland GmbH 16
#11 M. Technique Co., Ltd. 15
#12 Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. 14
#13 Toyo Aluminium Kabushiki Kaisha 12
#14 Landa Labs (2012) Ltd. 12
#15 THE Chemours Company TT, LLC 12
#16 Coatex 11
#17 CQV Co., Ltd. 11
#18 Tokuyama Corporation 10
#19 Imertech SAS 10
#20 Imerys USA, Inc. 10

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C09C 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 C09C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C09C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 050100150200 Patents in C09C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Omya InternationalViavi SolutionsCabotEckartSakai Chemical…Monolith MaterialsRohm and HaasJgc Catalysts and…Nippon Sheet GlassLanxess DeutschlandM TechniqueSumitomo Osaka CementToyo AluminiumLanda Labs (2012)
Top 14 C09C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C09C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C09C's 2,483-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C09C (#345 of 670 by volume ; lead share 6.8%) - not the C09 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A42B 2,474 B26B 2,460 G04G 2,450 G21C 2,434

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B23C 6.8% F23Q 6.8% B61H 6.8% B24B 6.8%

Questions about C09C

Which company holds the most patents in C09C?
Omya International AG leads C09C with 169 patents (6.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 65% of class grants.
Which C09C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C09C, Titan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (5.00x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 5 in 2022–2024) while holding 5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C09C compare inside parent class C09?
Inside C09 (DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; Natural RESINS; ADHESIVES; Compositions NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; Applications OF Materials NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), C09C ranks #5 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 3.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C09K (29,124 grants).

What to do with this data

C09C in context - here's where to go next.

  • Omya International AG leads C09C with 169 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • C09C ranks #345 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 - C09C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,483 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.