PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C12

C12P - Fermentation OR Enzyme-using Processes TO Synthesise A De…

Fermentation or enzyme-using processes to synthesise a desired chemical compound or composition or to separate optical isomers from a racemic mixture. 13,948 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

13,948
US patents granted
C12
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Fermentation OR Enzyme-using Processes TO Synthesise A De… ranks #138 of 670 CPC technology areas - 13,948 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 7% over five years.

#138
of 670 CPC technology areas
13,948
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Novozymes A/S
leading assignee (348)
-7%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Novozymes A/s (348 patents)

CPC subclass C12P - FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE - covers 13,948 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 C12P is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Novozymes A/s leads with 348 patents, followed by Codexis, Inc. at 275 grants and DSM IP Assets B.v. at 269.

Filing activity in C12P is down 7% 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 C12P innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C12P, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 7% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,4001,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 768

Who leads C12P?

The 12 most active assignees in FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Novozymes A/S is the most active filer in C12P, holding 348 of the 13,948 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 C12P
Rank Company Patents in C12P
#1 Novozymes A/s 348
#2 Codexis, Inc. 275
#3 DSM IP Assets B.v. 269
#4 The Regents Of The University Of California 240
#5 CJ Cheiljedang Corporation 235
#6 Novozymes, Inc. 178
#7 Genomatica, Inc. 145
#8 Jiangnan University 143
#9 Xyleco, Inc. 139
#10 Ajinomoto Co., Inc. 124
#11 Danisco US Inc. 116
#12 President And Fellows Of Harvard College 91
#13 Cargill, Incorporated 87
#14 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 77
#15 Butamax Advanced Biofuels Llc 77
#16 E.i. DU PONT DE Nemours AND Company 65
#17 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 63
#18 POET Research, Inc. 59
#19 Kaneka Corporation 57
#20 Evonik Degussa Gmbh 57

About This Class

CPC subclass C12P belongs to class C12.

13,948 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 C12P 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 C12P assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12P. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C12P assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12P. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 0100200300400 Patents in C12P Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Novozymes A/SCodexisDsm Ip Assets B VThe Regents of the Un…Cj CheiljedangNovozymesGenomaticaJiangnan UniversityXylecoAjinomotoDanisco UsPresident and Fellows…Cargill IncorporatedRegeneron Pharmaceuti…
Top 14 C12P assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12P. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C12P?
CPC subclass C12P covers FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE. It belongs to CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING), with 13,948 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C12P?
13,948 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C12P between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C12P?
Novozymes A/s leads C12P with 348 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C12P 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 C12P 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.