CPC technology class · C12

C12R - Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclasses C12c - C12q

Indexing scheme associated with subclasses c12c - c12q, relating to microorganisms. 3,107 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

3,107
US patents granted: #6/12
in C12: 2.1%
C12 class share: +65%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Indexing Scheme Associated With Subclasses C12c - C12q ranks #309 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,107 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 65% over five years.

#309
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,107
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Cj Cheiljedang
leading assignee (90): +65%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C12R's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C12R recorded 1,520 grants versus 923 in 2015–2019 (+65% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 342 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 152 (+125% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee CJ Cheiljedang Corporation holds 2.9% of the class ; the top three share 7.0%.

Leaderboard read

C12R concentration, lead at 2.9%

CJ Cheiljedang Corporation leads this historical grant record at 2.9% of C12R - foreign corporation assignees hold 71% of class grants (1,197 of 1,684). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.9%
Top three share: 7.0%
Lead over #2: 13

Where C12R sits inside C12

Among 12 subclasses in C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12R ranks #6 and holds 2.1% 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 C12Q 32,189 C12Y 17,214 C12P 13,948 C12M 8,154 C12C 506 C12G 389 C12H 386

Rising assignees active in C12R

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 Locus Solutions Ipco, LLC 35x 0 → 35 company-wide · 5 in C12R
#2 Seed Health, Inc. 24x 0 → 24 company-wide · 7 in C12R
#3 Glac Biotech Co., Ltd. 21x 1 → 21 company-wide · 11 in C12R
#4 Viridos, Inc. 11x 0 → 11 company-wide · 5 in C12R
#5 Kobiolabs, Inc. 10x 1 → 10 company-wide · 10 in C12R

C12R grants by year, peak 2024 (342)

US utility-patent grants per year in C12R, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 65% versus 2015–2019.

Cj Cheiljedang

90
Jiangnan University

77
Chr Hansen A/S

52
Monsanto Technology

37
4d Pharma Research

27
Novozymes A/S

20
Lesaffre Et Compagnie

20
The Fynder Group

19
The United States of…

18
Dupont Nutrition…

18
Indian Oil

17
Compagnie Gervais…

16

What this shows Cj Cheiljedang is the most active filer in C12R, holding 90 of the 3,107 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass C12R
Rank	Company	Patents in C12R
#1	CJ Cheiljedang Corporation	90
#2	Jiangnan University	77
#3	Chr. Hansen A/S	52
#4	Monsanto Technology LLC	37
#5	4D Pharma Research Limited	27
#6	Novozymes A/S	20
#7	Lesaffre ET Compagnie	20
#8	The Fynder Group, Inc.	19
#9	The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture	18
#10	Dupont Nutrition Biosciences APS	18
#11	Indian Oil Corporation Limited	17
#12	Compagnie Gervais Danone	16
#13	Ajinomoto Co., Inc.	15
#14	Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.	14
#15	AgBiome, Inc.	14
#16	Allergan, Inc.	12
#17	University-industry Cooperation Group OF Kyung HEE University	12
#18	Amorepacific Corporation	12
#19	TCI Co., Ltd.	12
#20	Biogaia AB	12

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C12R 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 C12R assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C12R. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C12R's 3,107-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C12R (#309 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.9%) - not the C12 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H03B 3,110 D06M 3,083 C22B 3,163 B62B 3,039

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F26B 2.9% E01F 2.9% B03B 2.9% B63B 2.9%

Questions about C12R

Which company holds the most patents in C12R?

CJ Cheiljedang Corporation leads C12R with 90 patents (2.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 71% of class grants.

Which C12R assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C12R, Locus Solutions Ipco, LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (35x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 35 in 2022–2024) while holding 5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does C12R compare inside parent class C12?

Inside C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; Mutation OR Genetic Engineering), C12R ranks #6 of 12 subclasses by grant volume and holds 2.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C12N (68,530 grants).

What to do with this data

C12R in context - here's where to go next.

CJ Cheiljedang Corporation leads C12R with 90 grants in this class. See full portfolio
C12R ranks #309 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 - C12R figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,107 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.