PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C12

C12M - Apparatus FOR Enzymology OR Microbiology

Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology; apparatus for culturing microorganisms for producing biomass, for growing cells or for obtaining fermentation or metabolic products, i.e. bioreactors or fermenters. 8,154 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

8,154
US patents granted
C12
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+64%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Apparatus FOR Enzymology OR Microbiology ranks #190 of 670 CPC technology areas - 8,154 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 64% over five years.

#190
of 670 CPC technology areas
8,154
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Life
leading assignee (110)
+64%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Life Technologies Corporation (110 patents)

CPC subclass C12M - APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS - covers 8,154 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C12M is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Life Technologies Corporation leads with 110 patents, followed by Sartorius Stedim Biotech Gmbh at 84 grants and Global Life Sciences Solutions USA Llc at 75.

Filing activity in C12M is up 64% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C12M innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C12M, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 64% versus 2015–2019.

4005006007008009001,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 673

Who leads C12M?

The 12 most active assignees in APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Life is the most active filer in C12M, holding 110 of the 8,154 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 C12M
Rank Company Patents in C12M
#1 Life Technologies Corporation 110
#2 Sartorius Stedim Biotech Gmbh 84
#3 Global Life Sciences Solutions USA Llc 75
#4 President And Fellows Of Harvard College 73
#5 Inscripta Inc. 70
#6 Flodesign Sonics, Inc. 64
#7 Emulate, Inc. 61
#8 EMD Millipore Corporation 57
#9 Xyleco, Inc. 57
#10 Biomerieux, Inc. 52
#11 Terumo BCT, Inc. 47
#12 Nikon Corporation 46
#13 GE Healthcare Bio-science AB 41
#14 Becton, Dickinson And Company 37
#15 Repligen Corporation 34
#16 BD Kiestra B.v. 33
#17 Cytiva Sweden AB 32
#18 The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. 31
#19 Toyo Seikan Co., Ltd. 31
#20 Shimadzu Corporation 29

About This Class

CPC subclass C12M belongs to class C12.

8,154 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 C12M 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 C12M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C12M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 20406080100120 Patents in C12M Avg claims / patent (company-wide) LifeSartorius Stedim Biot…Global Life Sciences…President and Fellows…InscriptaFlodesign SonicsEmulateEmd MilliporeXylecoBiomerieuxTerumo BctNikonGe Healthcare Bio-sci…Becton Dickinson and
Top 14 C12M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C12M?
CPC subclass C12M covers APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS. It belongs to CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING), with 8,154 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C12M?
8,154 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C12M between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C12M?
Life Technologies Corporation leads C12M with 110 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C12M 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., C12) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C12M 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.