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 filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

3,107
US patents granted: C12
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +99%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Indexing Scheme Associated WITH Subclasses C12C - C12Q ranks #309 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,107 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 99% over five years.

#309
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,107
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Cj Cheiljedang
leading assignee (90): +99%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: CJ Cheiljedang Corporation (90 patents)

CPC subclass C12R - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES C12C - C12Q, RELATING TO MICROORGANISMS - covers 3,107 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 C12R is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. CJ Cheiljedang Corporation leads with 90 patents, followed by Jiangnan University at 77 grants and Chr. Hansen A/s at 52.

Filing activity in C12R is up 99% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is C12R innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C12R, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 99% 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 Bios…

18
Indian Oil

17
Compagnie Gervais Dan…

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

About This Class

CPC subclass C12R belongs to class C12.

3,107 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 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).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C12R?

CPC subclass C12R covers INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES C12C - C12Q, RELATING TO MICROORGANISMS. It belongs to CPC class C12 (BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING), with 3,107 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in C12R?

3,107 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C12R between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in C12R?

CJ Cheiljedang Corporation leads C12R with 90 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for C12R 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 C12R 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.