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 grant trajectory.

68,530
US patents granted
#1/12
in C12
47.4%
C12 class share
+6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Microorganisms Or Enzymes ranks #20 of 670 CPC technology areas - 68,530 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 6% over five years.

#20
of 670 CPC technology areas
68,530
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Monsanto Technology
leading assignee (1,335)
+6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C12N's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C12N recorded 28,456 grants versus 26,732 in 2015–2019 (+6% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 6,104 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 4,896 (+25% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Monsanto Technology LLC holds 1.9% of the class ; the top three share 4.6%.

Leaderboard read

C12N concentration, lead at 1.9%

Monsanto Technology LLC leads this historical grant record at 1.9% of C12N - us corporation assignees hold 59% of class grants (34,386 of 58,267). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
1.9%

1,335 of 68,530 grants

Top three share
4.6%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
174

more grants than The Regents of the University of California

Where C12N sits inside C12

Among 12 subclasses in C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12N ranks #1 and holds 47.4% of the parent class's 144,620 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C12Q 32,189 C12Y 17,214 C12P 13,948 C12M 8,154 C12R 3,107 C12C 506 C12G 389 C12H 386

Rising assignees active in C12N

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 King Faisal University 125x 6 → 747 company-wide · 14 in C12N
  2. #2 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 49x 0 → 49 company-wide · 13 in C12N
  3. #3 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 45x 0 → 45 company-wide · 37 in C12N
  4. #4 CureVac SE 39x 0 → 39 company-wide · 47 in C12N
  5. #5 Locus Solutions Ipco, LLC 35x 0 → 35 company-wide · 19 in C12N

C12N grants by year, peak 2020 (6,104)

US utility-patent grants per year in C12N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 6% 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

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). 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…Novozymes A/SImmatics Biotechnologi…Pioneer Hi-bred…President and Fellows…Massachusetts…The Trustees of the…Regeneron Pharmaceutic…The Board of Trustees…The United States of…Centre National De La…The Board of Regents…Wisconsin Alumni…
Top 14 C12N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C12N's 68,530-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C12N (#20 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.9%) - not the C12 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

Y02P 65,929 H01M 63,620 G09G 62,527 H05K 62,449

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G01M 2.0% G01B 2.0% C08B 1.9% F27B 2.0%

Questions about C12N

Which company holds the most patents in C12N?
Monsanto Technology LLC leads C12N with 1,335 patents (1.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 59% of class grants.
Which C12N assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C12N, King Faisal University shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (125x: 6 grants in 2019–2021 → 747 in 2022–2024) while holding 14 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C12N compare inside parent class C12?
Inside C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12N ranks #1 of 12 subclasses by grant volume and holds 47.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C12Q (32,189 grants).

What to do with this data

C12N in context - here's where to go next.

  • Monsanto Technology LLC leads C12N with 1,335 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • C12N ranks #20 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class C12, the largest sibling subclass is C12Q with 32,189 grants. Explore C12Q

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

Methodology - C12N figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (68,530 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.