PlainPatent

CPC technology class · C23

C23F - Non-mechanical Removal Of Metallic Material From Surface

Non-mechanical removal of metallic material from surface ; inhibiting corrosion of metallic material or incrustation in general; multi-step processes for surface treatment of metallic material involving at least one process provided for in class c23 and at least one process covered by subclass c21d . 2,985 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

2,985
US patents granted
#2/4
in C23
9.0%
C23 class share
-2%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Non-mechanical Removal Of Metallic Material From Surface ranks #316 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,985 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 2% over five years.

#316
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,985
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ecolab Usa
leading assignee (83)
-2%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C23F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C23F recorded 1,296 grants versus 1,326 in 2015–2019 (-2% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 309 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 227 (+36% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Ecolab USA Inc. holds 2.8% of the class ; the top three share 5.3%.

Leaderboard read

C23F concentration, lead at 2.8%

Ecolab USA Inc. leads this historical grant record at 2.8% of C23F - us corporation assignees hold 55% of class grants (557 of 1,016). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.8%

83 of 2,985 grants

Top three share
5.3%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
39

more grants than US Synthetic Corporation

Where C23F sits inside C23

Among 4 subclasses in 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), C23F ranks #2 and holds 9.0% of the parent class's 33,270 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C23C 29,488 C23G 703 C23D 94

Rising assignees active in C23F

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 Dorf Ketal Chemicals FZE 12x 2 → 24 company-wide · 18 in C23F
  2. #2 S+S Industries Technology LLC 11x 0 → 11 company-wide · 12 in C23F
  3. #3 Marathon Petroleum Company LP 5.41x 17 → 92 company-wide · 7 in C23F
  4. #4 Formula NO. 37, LLC 2.50x 2 → 5 company-wide · 7 in C23F
  5. #5 Tech Met, Inc. 2.50x 2 → 5 company-wide · 7 in C23F

C23F grants by year, peak 2020 (309)

US utility-patent grants per year in C23F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 2% versus 2015–2019.

100150200250300350 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 136

Who leads C23F?

The 12 most active assignees in Non-mechanical Removal OF Metallic Material From Surface ; Inhibiting Corrosion OF Metallic Material OR Incrustation IN GENERAL; Multi-step Processes FOR Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material Involving AT Least ONE Process Provided FOR IN Class C23 AND AT Least ONE Process Covered BY Subclass C21d - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ecolab Usa is the most active filer in C23F, holding 83 of the 2,985 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 C23F
Rank Company Patents in C23F
#1 Ecolab USA Inc. 83
#2 US Synthetic Corporation 44
#3 Lam Research Corporation 32
#4 ASM IP Holding B.V. 21
#5 Fluid Energy Group Ltd. 21
#6 Prestone Products LLC 19
#7 ArcelorMittal 18
#8 Dorf Ketal Chemicals FZE 18
#9 Entegris, Inc. 15
#10 Cabot Microelectronics Corporation 15
#11 ChampionX USA Inc. 15
#12 Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo 14
#13 Biomet 3i, LLC 14
#14 Uacj Corporation 13
#15 Dongwoo Fine-chem Co., Ltd. 12
#16 S+S Industries Technology LLC 12
#17 Chemtreat, Inc. 11
#18 Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation 10
#19 Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. 10
#20 Masonite Corporation 10

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C23F 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 C23F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C23F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 020406080100 Patents in C23F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Ecolab UsaUs SyntheticLam ResearchAsm Ip Holding B VFluid Energy GroupPrestone ProductsArcelormittalDorf Ketal Chemicals…EntegrisCabot MicroelectronicsChampionx UsaInstituto Mexicano…Biomet 3iUacj
Top 14 C23F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C23F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C23F's 2,985-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C23F (#316 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.8%) - not the C23 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B41F 2,980 B64G 2,994 A46B 2,997 E05C 2,961

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G07B 2.8% A61F 2.8% C05G 2.8% B65G 2.8%

Questions about C23F

Which company holds the most patents in C23F?
Ecolab USA Inc. leads C23F with 83 patents (2.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 55% of class grants.
Which C23F assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C23F, Dorf Ketal Chemicals FZE shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (12x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 24 in 2022–2024) while holding 18 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does C23F compare inside parent class C23?
Inside 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), C23F ranks #2 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 9.0% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C23C (29,488 grants).

What to do with this data

C23F in context - here's where to go next.

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

Methodology - C23F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,985 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.