PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C22

C22F - Changing THE Physical Structure OF Non-ferrous Metals AND…

Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous alloys. 3,437 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

3,437
US patents granted
C22
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+15%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Changing THE Physical Structure OF Non-ferrous Metals AND… ranks #299 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,437 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 15% over five years.

#299
of 670 CPC technology areas
3,437
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Uacj
leading assignee (90)
+15%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: UACJ Corporation (90 patents)

CPC subclass C22F - CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS - covers 3,437 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C22 (METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C22F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. UACJ Corporation leads with 90 patents, followed by JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation at 75 grants and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation at 73.

Filing activity in C22F is up 15% 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 C22F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C22F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 15% versus 2015–2019.

150200250300350400 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 168

Who leads C22F?

The 12 most active assignees in CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Uacj is the most active filer in C22F, holding 90 of the 3,437 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 C22F
Rank Company Patents in C22F
#1 UACJ Corporation 90
#2 JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation 75
#3 Mitsubishi Materials Corporation 73
#4 Novelis Inc. 72
#5 Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. 65
#6 KOBE Steel Ltd. 61
#7 ATI Properties Llc 55
#8 Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.k. 38
#9 Nippon Steel Corporation 37
#10 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation 36
#11 Mitsubishi Shindoh Co., Ltd. 35
#12 Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd. 30
#13 Constellium Issoire 30
#14 Arconic Corporation 29
#15 Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc. 27
#16 DOWA Metaltech Co., Ltd. 22
#17 Materion Corporation 17
#18 MTU Aero Engines Ag 16
#19 H.c. Starck Inc. 16
#20 Alcoa Inc. 15

About This Class

CPC subclass C22F belongs to class C22.

3,437 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 C22F 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 C22F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C22F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C22F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C22F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 20406080100 Patents in C22F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) UacjJx Nippon Mining & Me…Mitsubishi MaterialsNovelisFurukawa ElectricKobe SteelAti PropertiesTanaka Kikinzoku Kogy…Nippon SteelNippon Steel & Sumito…Mitsubishi ShindohNippon Light MetalConstellium IssoireArconic
Top 14 C22F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C22F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C22F?
CPC subclass C22F covers CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS. It belongs to CPC class C22 (METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS), with 3,437 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C22F?
3,437 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C22F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C22F?
UACJ Corporation leads C22F with 90 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C22F 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., C22) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C22F 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.