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CPC technology class · C10

C10N - Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclass C10m Relating To…

Indexing scheme associated with subclass c10m relating to lubricating compositions. 3,834 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

3,834
US patents granted
#4/10
in C10
14.0%
C10 class share
-5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclass C10m Relating To… ranks #278 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,834 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 5% over five years.

#278
of 670 CPC technology areas
3,834
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Idemitsu Kosan
leading assignee (212)
-5%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C10N's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C10N recorded 1,586 grants versus 1,678 in 2015–2019 (-5% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2021 at 363 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 244 (+49% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. holds 5.5% of the class ; the top three share 14.7%.

Leaderboard read

C10N concentration, lead at 5.5%

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 5.5% of C10N - foreign corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (1,208 of 2,283). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
5.5%

212 of 3,834 grants

Top three share
14.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
2

more grants than The Lubrizol Corporation

Where C10N sits inside C10

Among 10 subclasses in C10 (Petroleum, GAS OR Coke INDUSTRIES; Technical Gases Containing Carbon MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; Peat), C10N ranks #4 and holds 14.0% of the parent class's 27,322 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C10G 9,942 C10L 5,025 C10M 4,240 C10B 1,527 C10J 1,392 C10K 1,080 C10C 264 C10F 12

Rising assignees active in C10N

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 Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company 298x 0 → 298 company-wide · 17 in C10N
  2. #2 Resonac Corporation 192x 0 → 192 company-wide · 19 in C10N
  3. #3 Shell USA, Inc. 110x 0 → 110 company-wide · 16 in C10N
  4. #4 Totalenergies Onetech 65x 0 → 65 company-wide · 20 in C10N
  5. #5 Lanxess Corporation 18x 1 → 18 company-wide · 10 in C10N

C10N grants by year, peak 2021 (363)

US utility-patent grants per year in C10N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 5% versus 2015–2019.

200250300350400 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 216

Who leads C10N?

The 12 most active assignees in Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclass C10m Relating TO Lubricating Compositions - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Idemitsu Kosan is the most active filer in C10N, holding 212 of the 3,834 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 C10N
Rank Company Patents in C10N
#1 Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. 212
#2 The Lubrizol Corporation 210
#3 Afton Chemical Corporation 142
#4 Exxonmobil Research AND Engineering Company 112
#5 Infineum International Limited 80
#6 Chevron Oronite Company LLC 71
#7 Total Marketing Services 68
#8 ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc. 62
#9 JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation 59
#10 Eneos Corporation 55
#11 Chevron U.S.A. Inc. 52
#12 Kyodo Yushi Co., Ltd. 46
#13 Shell OIL Compny 41
#14 THE Chemours Company FC, LLC 35
#15 Evonik Operations GmbH 29
#16 Biosynthetic Technologies, LLC 29
#17 Showa Denko K.K. 27
#18 Vallourec OIL AND GAS France 26
#19 Jxtg Nippon OIL & Energy Corporation 25
#20 SK Innovation Co., Ltd. 22

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C10N 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 C10N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 050100150200250 Patents in C10N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Idemitsu KosanThe LubrizolAfton ChemicalExxonmobil Research…Infineum InternationalChevron OroniteTotal Marketing…Exxonmobil Chemical…Jx Nippon Oil & EnergyEneosChevron UKyodo YushiShell Oil CompnyThe Chemours Fc
Top 14 C10N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C10N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C10N's 3,834-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C10N (#278 of 670 by volume ; lead share 5.5%) - not the C10 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

D01F 3,867 F24C 3,868 H02N 3,799 E04C 3,792

Nearest by lead-assignee share

H03M 5.5% H03G 5.6% C10B 5.6% H03D 5.6%

Questions about C10N

Which company holds the most patents in C10N?
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. leads C10N with 212 patents (5.5% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 53% of class grants.
Which C10N assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C10N, Exxon Mobil Technology and Engineering Company shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (298x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 298 in 2022–2024) while holding 17 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C10N compare inside parent class C10?
Inside C10 (Petroleum, GAS OR Coke INDUSTRIES; Technical Gases Containing Carbon MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; Peat), C10N ranks #4 of 10 subclasses by grant volume and holds 14.0% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C10G (9,942 grants).

What to do with this data

C10N in context - here's where to go next.

  • Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. leads C10N with 212 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • C10N ranks #278 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class C10, the largest sibling subclass is C10G with 9,942 grants. Explore C10G

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

Methodology - C10N figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,834 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.