PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C12

C12N - Microorganisms OR Enzymes

Microorganisms or enzymes; compositions thereof; propagating, preserving, or maintaining microorganisms; mutation or genetic engineering; culture media. 68,530 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

68,530
US patents granted
C12
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+23%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Microorganisms OR Enzymes ranks #20 of 670 CPC technology areas - 68,530 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 23% over five years.

#20
of 670 CPC technology areas
68,530
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Monsanto Technology
leading assignee (1,335)
+23%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Monsanto Technology Llc (1,335 patents)

CPC subclass C12N - MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA - covers 68,530 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 C12N is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Monsanto Technology Llc leads with 1,335 patents, followed by The Regents Of The University Of California at 1,161 grants and Novozymes A/s at 656.

Filing activity in C12N is up 23% 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 C12N innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C12N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 23% versus 2015–2019.

4,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 4,463

Who leads C12N?

The 12 most active assignees in MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Monsanto Technology is the most active filer in C12N, holding 1,335 of the 68,530 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 C12N
Rank Company Patents in C12N
#1 Monsanto Technology Llc 1,335
#2 The Regents Of The University Of California 1,161
#3 Novozymes A/s 656
#4 Immatics Biotechnologies Gmbh 647
#5 Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc. 623
#6 President And Fellows Of Harvard College 594
#7 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology 541
#8 The Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania 537
#9 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 458
#10 The Board Of Trustees Of The Leland Stanford Junior University 442
#11 The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary, Department Of Health And Human Services 431
#12 Centre National DE LA Recherche Scientifique 398
#13 The Board Of Regents Of The University Of Texas System 358
#14 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 358
#15 Codexis, Inc. 346
#16 University Of Massachusetts 299
#17 Syngenta Participations Ag 296
#18 The General Hospital Corporation 295
#19 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 262
#20 DSM IP Assets B.v. 257

About This Class

CPC subclass C12N belongs to class C12.

68,530 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 C12N 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 C12N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C12N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 1416182022 050010001500 Patents in C12N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Monsanto TechnologyThe Regents of the Un…Novozymes A/SImmatics Biotechnolog…Pioneer Hi-bred Inter…President and Fellows…Massachusetts Institu…The Trustees of the U…Regeneron Pharmaceuti…The Board of Trustees…The United States of…Centre National De La…The Board of Regents…Wisconsin Alumni Rese…
Top 14 C12N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C12N?
CPC subclass C12N covers MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA. It belongs to CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING), with 68,530 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C12N?
68,530 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C12N between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C12N?
Monsanto Technology Llc leads C12N with 1,335 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C12N 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 C12N 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.