PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C23

C23C - Coating Metallic Material

Coating metallic material; coating material with metallic material; surface treatment of metallic material by diffusion into the surface, by chemical conversion or substitution; coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering, by ion implantation or by chemical vapour deposition, in general. 29,488 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

29,488
US patents granted
C23
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+18%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Coating Metallic Material ranks #66 of 670 CPC technology areas - 29,488 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 18% over five years.

#66
of 670 CPC technology areas
29,488
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Applied Materials
leading assignee (2,196)
+18%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Applied Materials, Inc. (2,196 patents)

CPC subclass C23C - COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL - covers 29,488 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class C23 (COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTAT). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in C23C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Applied Materials, Inc. leads with 2,196 patents, followed by Tokyo Electron Limited at 1,188 grants and ASM IP Holding B.v. at 688.

Filing activity in C23C is up 18% 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 C23C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in C23C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 18% versus 2015–2019.

2,0002,2002,4002,6002,8003,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 2,093

Who leads C23C?

The 12 most active assignees in COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Applied Materials is the most active filer in C23C, holding 2,196 of the 29,488 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 C23C
Rank Company Patents in C23C
#1 Applied Materials, Inc. 2,196
#2 Tokyo Electron Limited 1,188
#3 ASM IP Holding B.v. 688
#4 Lam Research Corporation 673
#5 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. 493
#6 JFE Steel Corporation 417
#7 Kokusai Electric Corporation 375
#8 Nippon Steel Corporation 357
#9 Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. 296
#10 BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. 263
#11 Posco Co., Ltd 263
#12 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation 203
#13 Arcelormittal 187
#14 United Technologies Corporation 185
#15 JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation 174
#16 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 157
#17 Oerlikon Surface Solutions Ag, Pfäffikon 149
#18 Mitsubishi Materials Corporation 135
#19 Raytheon Technologies Corporation 133
#20 Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp. 132

About This Class

CPC subclass C23C belongs to class C23.

29,488 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 C23C 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 C23C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C23C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 C23C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C23C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 05001000150020002500 Patents in C23C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Applied MaterialsTokyo ElectronAsm Ip Holding B VLam ResearchTaiwan Semiconductor…Jfe SteelKokusai ElectricNippon SteelHitachi Kokusai Elect…Boe Technology GroupPoscoNippon Steel & Sumito…ArcelormittalUnited
Top 14 C23C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C23C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class C23C?
CPC subclass C23C covers COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL. It belongs to CPC class C23 (COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTAT), with 29,488 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in C23C?
29,488 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass C23C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in C23C?
Applied Materials, Inc. leads C23C with 2,196 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for C23C 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., C23) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like C23C 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.