PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C12

C12Q - Measuring OR Testing Processes Involving Enzymes

Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms ; compositions or test papers therefor; processes of preparing such compositions; condition-responsive control in microbiological or enzymological processes. 32,189 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

32,189
US patents granted
C12
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+16%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Measuring OR Testing Processes Involving Enzymes ranks #58 of 670 CPC technology areas - 32,189 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 16% over five years.

#58
of 670 CPC technology areas
32,189
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Regents of the Un…
leading assignee (581)
+16%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Regents Of The University Of California (581 patents)

CPC subclass C12Q - MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS ; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES - covers 32,189 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 C12Q is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Regents Of The University Of California leads with 581 patents, followed by Life Technologies Corporation at 546 grants and Illumina, Inc. at 445.

Filing activity in C12Q is up 16% 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 C12Q innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C12Q, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 16% versus 2015–2019.

1,5002,0002,5003,0003,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,877

Who leads C12Q?

The 12 most active assignees in MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS ; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Regents of the Un… is the most active filer in C12Q, holding 581 of the 32,189 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 C12Q
Rank Company Patents in C12Q
#1 The Regents Of The University Of California 581
#2 Life Technologies Corporation 546
#3 Illumina, Inc. 445
#4 President And Fellows Of Harvard College 387
#5 Immatics Biotechnologies Gmbh 286
#6 10x Genomics, Inc. 282
#7 The Board Of Trustees Of The Leland Stanford Junior University 266
#8 Pacific Biosciences OF California, Inc. 259
#9 Gen-probe Incorporated 250
#10 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology 249
#11 Bio-rad Laboratories, Inc. 248
#12 THE Johns Hopkins University 226
#13 Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. 220
#14 Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc. 214
#15 Roche Sequencing Solutions, Inc. 212
#16 Illumina Cambridge Limited 212
#17 Monsanto Technology Llc 194
#18 The General Hospital Corporation 185
#19 Dana-farber Cancer Institute, Inc. 178
#20 Syngenta Participations Ag 172

About This Class

CPC subclass C12Q belongs to class C12.

32,189 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 C12Q 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 C12Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C12Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 1015202530 100200300400500600 Patents in C12Q Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Regents of the Un…LifeIlluminaPresident and Fellows…Immatics Biotechnolog…10x GenomicsThe Board of Trustees…Pacific Biosciences O…Gen-probe IncorporatedMassachusetts Institu…Bio-rad LaboratoriesThe Johns Hopkins Uni…Roche Molecular Syste…Pioneer Hi-bred Inter…
Top 14 C12Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C12Q?
CPC subclass C12Q covers MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS ; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES. It belongs to CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING), with 32,189 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C12Q?
32,189 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C12Q between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C12Q?
The Regents Of The University Of California leads C12Q with 581 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C12Q 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 C12Q 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.