Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filings peaked in 2023 at 24 and have since flattened, suggesting the core copolymer chemistry claim space is settling rather than still expanding.
- Japan, Europe and the US each host a similar share of filings (49, 39, 38), so no single jurisdiction dominates the way it does in many polymer fields — clearance work needs all three.
- Every tracked assignee shows 0 filings in the latest year, which is partly a publication-lag artefact but also consistent with a maturing, consolidating claim landscape.
Filing growth compares 2021 (11 records) with 2024 (9) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 191 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) optical materials sit at the intersection of addition polymer chemistry and optical component design: low birefringence, low moisture absorption and clean light transmission make COC a substitute for glass and PMMA in lenses, light guides and precision-molded optical parts. This landscape draws on 191 patent families filed between 2015 and the 2026 cut-off, indexed against IPC classes spanning polymer composition (C08F, C08L), processing (C08J, B29C) and optics (G02B).
The technology composition skews heavily toward the underlying copolymer chemistry rather than the optical application itself: C08F and C08L each cover well over half of all records, while G02B — the optics-specific class — accounts for a much smaller share. That split matters for freedom-to-operate work: most defensible claim territory sits in monomer ratios, molecular weight control and blend formulation, not in device-level optical design.
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Filing trends and technology mix
Two views of the same 191-family dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose from 10 in 2017 to a peak of 24 in 2023, with 2022 sitting at the midpoint of 17. Activity has flattened since the peak; the 2026 figure of 0 is a partial-year count and should be read alongside the ~18-month publication lag rather than as a genuine drop-off.
IPC subclass composition
C08F (addition polymers) leads at 119 records, closely followed by C08L (polymer compositions) at 108. Processing-related C08J (65) and optics-specific G02B (41) trail well behind, with additive (C08K), laminate (B32B) and shaping (B29C) classes forming a smaller but persistent tail — evidence that most patenting effort goes into the resin itself rather than downstream optical assembly.
Shares are the percentage of the 191 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Optical Materials with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about cyclic olefin copolymer optical materials and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
EP4491643A1 — Cyclic Olefin Copolymer, Composition, Molded Body and Optical Component
A cyclic olefin copolymer includes a constituent unit (A) derived from an olefin monomer and a constituent unit (B) derived from at least one cyclic olefin monomer, where constituent unit (A) makes up 40-70 mole% and constituent unit (B) makes up 30-60 mole% of the total, with a defined weight-average molecular weight.Filed by Mitsui Chemicals Inc., published 2025-01-15. Abstract condensed from the original filing.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JP1987034924A | Crosslinking of cyclic olefin copolymer | 60 |
| 2 | US6121383A | Thermosplastic vulcanizates from blends of a polypropylene and elastic alpha -olefin/cyclic olefin copolymers | 54 |
| 3 | US20170233516A1 | Cyclic Olefin Copolymers and Methods of Making Them | 48 |
| 4 | JP2005330465A | Ethylene-cyclic olefin copolymer and its optical component | 48 |
| 5 | US20140134430A1 | Label facestock | 37 |
| 6 | US5559199A | Process for production of ethylene-cyclic olefin copolymer | 34 |
| 7 | JP1999080492A | Transparent cyclic olefin copolymer composition with improved heat resistance and impact resistance | 30 |
| 8 | WO2008068897A1 | Cyclic olefin polymer composition, use thereof, and cyclic olefin copolymer | 22 |
| 9 | CN101501127A | 包含环状烯烃共聚物和聚烯烃改性剂的聚合物组合物 | 21 |
| 10 | JP2004107486A | Alpha olefin-cyclic olefin copolymer | 21 |
Citation counts inside this corpus favour older filings and should be read as a signal of influence on later work, not as a measure of current commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers indicate
Three signals stand out once the filing counts and citation data are read together: where the claim density sits, how offices differ, and how mature the field looks relative to its own peak.
Claim density sits in the resin, not the device
Addition-polymer and polymer-composition classes together dwarf the optics-specific G02B class, meaning most granted claim scope covers monomer chemistry and blend formulation rather than lens or light-guide geometry.
Growth has plateaued after 2023
Filings rose steadily to 2023 and the midpoint year (2022, 17 filings) confirms a genuine build-up rather than a spike; the plateau since suggests core chemistry claims are increasingly settled.
No single office dominates
Japan, Europe and the United States each carry a comparable share of filings, with WIPO PCT filings (25) close behind — clearance and freedom-to-operate checks need to cover all three regions, not just one home jurisdiction.
Foundational patents still shape the art
The most-cited records date back well before the 2015-2026 window tracked here, indicating that crosslinking and thermoplastic-vulcanizate chemistry from earlier decades remains the reference point later filings design around.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to cyclic olefin copolymer optical materials, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is active, and where momentum has stalled
The assignee set includes both dedicated olefin chemical producers and optical-component specialists, but momentum across the tracked leaders has uniformly cooled in the most recent year.
Mitsui Chemicals leads but has slowed
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Mitsui Chemicals) shows a -100% year-on-year change, dropping to 0 filings in the latest tracked year — consistent with the broader plateau rather than a company-specific retreat, and likely inflated by publication lag.
Polyplastics and peers show the same pattern
Polyplastics Co., Ltd. (Polyplastics), Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Idemitsu Kosan) and ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc. (ExxonMobil Chemical Patents) all register zero filings in the latest year, mirroring the sector-wide flattening rather than diverging strategies.
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset. The strongest pairing, Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd. with Hoechst AG (Germany), appears 6 times, pointing to a legacy joint chemistry programme rather than a broad collaborative network.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Polyplastics Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc. | 0 | — |
| Avient Corporation | 0 | — |
| Avery Dennison Corporation | 0 | — |
| Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Hoechst AG (Germany) | 0 | — |
Where to take this from here
The dataset points to a settling core chemistry and a thinner optics-application layer above it. Two directions follow for teams deciding where to invest.
Stress-test freedom to operate on blend claims
With C08F and C08L carrying the bulk of claim density, any new formulation work should be checked against monomer-ratio and molecular-weight claims before optical-component design begins.
Explore FTO analysis in EurekaWatch the G02B-to-C08F ratio for design openings
The comparatively thin optics-specific filing layer suggests device-level claims — lens geometry, light-guide integration — remain less crowded than the underlying resin chemistry.
Run a white space search in EurekaCommon questions on COC optical material patents
Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) is used as a glass and PMMA substitute in optical components such as lenses, light guides and precision-molded parts, because it combines low birefringence, low moisture absorption and clean light transmission. These properties make it attractive for camera lenses, medical device optics and display components where dimensional stability under humidity matters. The patent record in this landscape shows claim activity concentrated on the resin chemistry that delivers these properties, rather than on the finished optical parts themselves.
The dataset tracks assignees including Mitsui Chemicals, Polyplastics, ExxonMobil Chemical Patents, Avery Dennison and Idemitsu Kosan, among others, spanning both bulk chemical producers and optical-component specialists. All of the tracked leaders show zero filings in the most recent year, which reflects both the roughly 18-month publication lag and a broader flattening of filing activity since the 2023 peak. No single company shows a dominant or fast-growing position in the current data.
Filings rose from 10 in 2017 to a peak of 24 in 2023, then plateaued rather than continuing to climb. This pattern is typical of a technology whose core chemistry claims — monomer ratios, molecular weight ranges, blend formulations — have already been substantially staked out by early filers. It does not necessarily mean the technology has stopped being commercially relevant; it means the easiest claim territory in the resin itself has largely been filed.
Japan, the European Patent Office and the United States each account for a comparable share of filings in this dataset (49, 39 and 38 respectively), with WIPO PCT filings close behind at 25. This three-way spread means a freedom-to-operate review focused on only one jurisdiction will miss a substantial portion of the relevant art. China and Canada carry smaller but non-trivial filing counts and should not be skipped entirely.
EP4491643A1, filed by Mitsui Chemicals, claims a cyclic olefin copolymer built from a defined olefin-derived constituent unit and a cyclic-olefin-derived constituent unit, with the olefin unit fixed at 40-70 mole% and the cyclic olefin unit at 30-60 mole%, alongside a specified weight-average molecular weight range. It is a composition-of-matter claim rather than a device or process claim, meaning it constrains formulators working within that specific mole-percent window rather than blocking all optical uses of COC. Anyone formulating outside that ratio band, or using a different molecular weight target, is not automatically caught by it.
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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.