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 grant trajectory.

32,189
US patents granted
#2/12
in C12
22.3%
C12 class share
+1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Measuring Or Testing Processes Involving Enzymes ranks #58 of 670 CPC technology areas - 32,189 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 1% over five years.

#58
of 670 CPC technology areas
32,189
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Regents of the…
leading assignee (581)
+1%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C12Q's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C12Q recorded 13,297 grants versus 13,125 in 2015–2019 (+1% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 3,100 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 2,197 (+41% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Regents of the University of California holds 1.8% of the class ; the top three share 4.9%.

Leaderboard read

C12Q concentration, lead at 1.8%

The Regents of the University of California leads this historical grant record at 1.8% of C12Q - us corporation assignees hold 67% of class grants (17,516 of 26,031). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
1.8%

581 of 32,189 grants

Top three share
4.9%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
35

more grants than Life Technologies Corporation

Where C12Q sits inside C12

Among 12 subclasses in C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12Q ranks #2 and holds 22.3% 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.

C12N 68,530 C12Y 17,214 C12P 13,948 C12M 8,154 C12R 3,107 C12C 506 C12G 389 C12H 386

Rising assignees active in C12Q

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 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 49x 0 → 49 company-wide · 6 in C12Q
  2. #2 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 45x 0 → 45 company-wide · 10 in C12Q
  3. #3 Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted 19x 2 → 38 company-wide · 10 in C12Q
  4. #4 Inari Agriculture Technology, Inc. 19x 2 → 38 company-wide · 9 in C12Q
  5. #5 Anhui Agricultural University 16x 1 → 16 company-wide · 5 in C12Q

C12Q grants by year, peak 2020 (3,100)

US utility-patent grants per year in C12Q, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% 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… 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

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). 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…LifeIlluminaPresident and Fellows…Immatics Biotechnologi…10x GenomicsThe Board of Trustees…Pacific Biosciences…Gen-probe IncorporatedMassachusetts…Bio-rad LaboratoriesThe Johns Hopkins…Roche Molecular…Pioneer Hi-bred…
Top 14 C12Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C12Q's 32,189-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C12Q (#58 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.8%) - not the C12 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G01C 32,360 H10B 31,904 Y02A 32,476 C07C 32,521

Nearest by lead-assignee share

E04B 1.8% C25B 1.8% B29B 1.8% C01B 1.8%

Questions about C12Q

Which company holds the most patents in C12Q?
The Regents of the University of California leads C12Q with 581 patents (1.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 67% of class grants.
Which C12Q assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C12Q, Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (49x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 49 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C12Q compare inside parent class C12?
Inside C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12Q ranks #2 of 12 subclasses by grant volume and holds 22.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C12N (68,530 grants).

What to do with this data

C12Q in context - here's where to go next.

  • The Regents of the University of California leads C12Q with 581 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • C12Q ranks #58 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class C12, the largest sibling subclass is C12N with 68,530 grants. Explore C12N

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

Methodology - C12Q figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (32,189 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.