Absorbent Hygiene Products Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five largest assignees hold 41.9% of all 1,776 records in scope, and the leading ten hold 51.6% — a field with a narrow set of repeat filers rather than a broad crowd.
- Filing has cooled since 2019. Activity peaked at 103 records in 2019 and has since declined toward single-digit annual counts by 2026, with the most recent year still understated by publication lag.
- Claim density sits almost entirely in one class. 97.5% of records carry an A61F classification, while adjacent classes like nonwovens (D04H, 1.1%) and polymer processing (C08J, 1.5%) are comparatively lightly claimed.
What the absorbent hygiene product patent record shows
Absorbent hygiene products — diapers, feminine hygiene absorbents and related constructions — sit at the intersection of fluid-management engineering and consumer-scale manufacturing. The scope tracked here spans 1,776 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from claim language around acquisition distribution layers, leakage prevention, SAP loading, thinness and comfort, and biodegradable material, and classified under A61F13, A61L15 and D04H1.
Filing offices skew heavily toward China and the United States, followed closely by Japan and the European Patent Office, with a smaller but meaningful share routed through the WIPO PCT system and Australia. That spread points to a field where regional manufacturing scale and consumer-product distribution, not just core R&D centres, shape where protection gets filed.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,776-record dataset: filing activity over time, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses. Both use the full record count as the denominator, so class shares sum to more than 100% because a single record can carry multiple classifications.
A peak in 2019, then a steady decline
Annual filings rose to 97 in 2017 and peaked at 103 in 2019, before falling toward a midpoint of 47 in 2022 and continuing down to 6 by 2026. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one to two years understate true filing activity, but the multi-year direction from 2019 onward is a genuine decline rather than a reporting artefact.
Claim density concentrates in A61F
A61F (implants & prostheses, which covers the core absorbent article structures) appears in 97.5% of the 1,776 records — effectively the default classification for this search scope. Sterilising and disinfecting art (A61L) and underwear/linen constructions (A41B) form a distant second and third tier, while polymer chemistry classes (C08L, C08J), layered laminates (B32B), catalysis-adjacent processes (B01J) and nonwovens (D04H) each sit under 3% — the branches where claim space is comparatively open.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,776 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Absorbent Hygiene Products with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about absorbent hygiene products and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe patents other filings had to design around
Leakage prevention means in a material for distributing fluid and method of making same
The material combines a liquid-permeable substrate with a chemical treatment applied non-uniformly across the substrate, creating an area of increased treatment concentration that acts as a leakage prevention zone and directs preferential fluid flow through the material — a construction aimed at inducing controlled wetting rather than uniform absorption.Filed by Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, published 2001-05-03 — illustrative of the acquisition-distribution-layer claim style that recurs across this dataset.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4695278A | Absorbent article having dual cuffs | 2,921 |
| 2 | US4795454A | Absorbent article having leakage-resistant dual cuffs | 2,310 |
| 3 | US4834741A | Diaper with waist band elastic | 1,001 |
| 4 | US4938753A | Seam construction in a disposable training pant, incontinence garment, or diaper | 803 |
| 5 | US4968312A | Disposable fecal compartmenting diaper | 533 |
| 6 | US4816025A | Absorbent article having a containment pocket | 461 |
| 7 | US4968313A | Diaper with waist band elastic | 278 |
| 8 | US4738677A | Absorbent article having a containment pocket | 253 |
| 9 | US4949668A | Apparatus for sprayed adhesive diaper construction | 220 |
| 10 | US3572342A | diaper | 218 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had more years to accumulate citations within a searched corpus — read them as a signal of influence on downstream design, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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The dataset points to a field that grew, consolidated around a handful of repeat filers, and has since cooled — with claim density still overwhelmingly parked in one IPC subclass.
A narrow set of filers still sets the terms
With the five leading assignees together holding 41.9% of all records in scope and the leading ten holding 51.6%, freedom-to-operate work in core diaper and feminine-hygiene absorbent constructions has to clear a small number of large portfolios before it clears anything else.
Filing has slowed from its 2019 peak
Annual filings fell from a 2019 peak of 103 to a 2022 midpoint of 47, continuing down toward the most recent partial year. Recent-year filings from several of the largest historical assignees have dropped to zero, though publication lag means the very latest counts are undercounted.
Claim space outside A61F is comparatively open
Nonwovens (D04H, 1.1% of records), polymer processing (C08J, 1.5%) and catalysis-adjacent chemistry (B01J, 1.4%) each appear in a small minority of records relative to A61F, suggesting these adjacent construction and materials angles carry lighter claim density even within the same search scope.
Joint filing is limited but recurring
Ten co-assignee pairings appear across the dataset, with the strongest pairs recurring across multiple records — evidence of ongoing structured collaboration between a small number of paired entities rather than broad cross-industry co-filing.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to absorbent hygiene products, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the ground, and where the gate sits
The ranking spans 100 companies — the complete set the data endpoint returns, not a curated top list. A small number of assignees hold the bulk of filings, while a long tail files infrequently, often as single-record entrants concentrated in Chinese manufacturing addresses.
A single assignee leads by a wide margin
The leading assignee's 237 records sit well ahead of fifth place at 108 and tenth place at 30, meaning the drop-off from first to fifth is steeper than fifth to tenth — most of the concentration is at the very top of the ranking.
Most ranked filers hold small counts
Once past the leading ten assignees — who together hold 51.6% of all 1,776 records — the remaining ranked companies hold comparatively few records each, consistent with a field where regional converters and smaller manufacturers file opportunistically around specific product lines.
Even large historical filers show zero recent activity
Several of the assignees with the largest historical portfolios show zero filings in the latest year, including one with a -100% year-on-year change — consistent with the broader decline from the 2019 peak rather than isolated to any one company.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Uni-Charm Corporation | 0 | — |
| Daio Paper Corporation | 0 | — |
| SCA Hygiene Products AB | 0 | — |
| Kao Corporation | 0 | — |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | 0 | -100% |
| Oji Paper Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Ontex BV | 0 | — |
| Livedo Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The figures above frame the shape of the field. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going deeper on specific claims, assignees and sub-branches.
Map claims against the leading portfolios
Pull the specific claim language behind the top five assignees' 41.9% share to see exactly which construction elements — layering, SAP placement, cuff design — are locked up versus loosely worded.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaTest a claim in the under-claimed branches
Nonwovens, polymer processing and catalysis-adjacent classes carry comparatively light claim density; drafting a first claim there benefits from checking prior art before committing R&D spend.
Run a white space search in EurekaTrack the decline from 2019 forward
Filing fell from a 2019 peak of 103 toward single digits by 2026; confirming whether that reflects market maturity or a shift to trade-secret protection needs a closer read of recent applicant behaviour.
Set up filing alerts in EurekaCommon questions about absorbent hygiene product patents
The dataset's leading assignee holds 237 records, well ahead of fifth place at 108 and tenth place at 30. Together, the top five assignees account for 41.9% of all 1,776 records in scope, and the top ten account for 51.6%. That means freedom-to-operate and licensing due diligence in this field should start with a small handful of large portfolios rather than a broad survey, since most of the concentration sits right at the top of the ranking.
No — filing peaked at 103 records in 2019 and has declined since, falling to a midpoint of 47 by 2022 and continuing down toward the most recent partial year. Several of the largest historical assignees show zero filings in the latest year tracked. Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the very last one or two years in any trend chart will always look lower than the true filing rate, but the multi-year direction from 2019 is a genuine slowdown, not just a reporting gap.
A61F (implants & prostheses, which covers core absorbent article structures) appears in 97.5% of the 1,776 records in scope, making it the dominant classification by a wide margin. Sterilising and disinfecting art (A61L, 8.2%) and underwear and linen constructions (A41B, 2.9%) follow well behind. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these percentages add up to more than 100%, and they should be read as density signals rather than as a breakdown of a fixed total.
Relative to the dominant A61F class, several adjacent branches carry noticeably lower claim density: nonwovens and felts (D04H) sit at 1.1% of records, polymer processing (C08J) at 1.5%, catalysis-adjacent processes (B01J) at 1.4%, and layered laminates (B32B) at 1.8%. These lower shares do not guarantee an easy path to grant, but they indicate that the heaviest prior-art crowding is concentrated elsewhere, making these branches worth a closer prior-art check before assuming the space is occupied.
China leads with 417 filings, followed by the United States at 279, Japan at 278, and the European Patent Office at 250. The WIPO PCT route accounts for 109 filings and Australia for 78. This spread suggests filers are pursuing protection in the jurisdictions with the largest manufacturing and consumer bases for these products, rather than concentrating solely on a single home market, so a multi-jurisdiction FTO check is generally warranted for products aimed at global distribution.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.