PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C11

C11D - Detergent Compositions

Detergent compositions; use of single substances as detergents; soap or soap-making; resin soaps; recovery of glycerol. 6,504 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

6,504
US patents granted
C11
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+14%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Detergent Compositions ranks #220 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,504 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 14% over five years.

#220
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,504
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Procter & Gamble
leading assignee (873)
+14%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company (873 patents)

CPC subclass C11D - DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL - covers 6,504 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C11 (ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C11D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Procter & Gamble Company leads with 873 patents, followed by Ecolab USA Inc. at 535 grants and Henkel Ag & Co. Kgaa at 277.

Filing activity in C11D is up 14% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C11D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C11D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 14% versus 2015–2019.

400500600700800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 420

Who leads C11D?

The 12 most active assignees in DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Procter & Gamble is the most active filer in C11D, holding 873 of the 6,504 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 C11D
Rank Company Patents in C11D
#1 The Procter & Gamble Company 873
#2 Ecolab USA Inc. 535
#3 Henkel Ag & Co. Kgaa 277
#4 Novozymes A/s 275
#5 BASF SE 194
#6 Conopco, Inc. 122
#7 Firmenich Sa 104
#8 THE Clorox Company 98
#9 KAO Corporation 82
#10 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. 74
#11 Colgate-palmolive Company 64
#12 Rohm And Haas Company 64
#13 Danisco US Inc. 57
#14 Milliken & Company 55
#15 Henkel IP & Holding Gmbh 53
#16 S. C. Johnson & SON, Inc. 45
#17 Givaudan Sa 45
#18 Monosol, Llc 45
#19 Stepan Company 44
#20 THE Chemours Company FC, Llc 41

About This Class

CPC subclass C11D belongs to class C11.

6,504 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 C11D 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 C11D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C11D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C11D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C11D. 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 C11D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Procter & GambleEcolab UsaHenkel & KgaaNovozymes A/SBasf SeConopcoFirmenichThe CloroxKaoInternational Flavors…Colgate-palmoliveRohm and HaasDanisco UsMilliken &
Top 14 C11D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C11D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C11D?
CPC subclass C11D covers DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL. It belongs to CPC class C11 (ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES), with 6,504 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C11D?
6,504 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C11D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C11D?
The Procter & Gamble Company leads C11D with 873 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C11D 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., C11) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C11D 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.