Depth Filtration Filter Media Patents: Leaders & Filing Trends 2026
- 47.3% concentration. The five most active assignees together hold 274 of the 579 records in scope — nearly half the field sits with a handful of filers.
- Filing peaked in 2020 at 99 records, then eased; 2021-to-2024 filings fell 50% (34 to 17), though 2025-2026 counts are still filling in as publication lags filing.
- B01D separation claims cover 63.0% of records, while D04H nonwoven-media claims sit at just 6.9% — a wide gap between core filtration mechanics and the substrate engineering around them.
Filing growth compares 2021 (34 records) with 2024 (17) — 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 579 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Depth filtration filter media selection sits at the intersection of separation engineering and bioprocessing: patents in scope combine claims on filter media construction — pore gradients, media chemistry, particle retention, binding capacity, extractables — with the bioprocess and cell-culture context under IPC classes B01D, C12N and C07K. That combination is deliberate: a depth filter claimed only as a mechanical structure competes in a different prior-art pool than one claimed for its interaction with a specific bioprocess stream.
The 579 records in scope span filings from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, drawn from receiving offices led by the United States, the European Patent Office and a strong showing at the Israeli patent office alongside PCT, Australian and Canadian filings. That spread points to a field where protection is sought across bioprocessing hubs rather than concentrated in one jurisdiction.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 579-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing activity, 2017-2026
Filings rose from single digits in 2017 to a peak of 99 records in 2020, then declined; the 2021-to-2024 window shows a 50% drop (34 to 17 records). 2025 and 2026 figures are understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so recent-year counts should not be read as a slowdown in actual filing activity.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
B01D (separation processes) appears on 63.0% of the 579 records, confirming that most filings anchor on filtration mechanics. C12N and C07K, at 39.0% and 28.0%, show how much of the field is claimed jointly with the bioprocessing or protein context rather than as standalone media. D04H (nonwovens and felts), at 6.9%, is the smallest slice — a record can carry multiple classes, so these figures do not sum to 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 579 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Depth Filtration Filter Media Selection with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about depth filtration filter media selection and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
Pleated multi-layer filter media and cartridge (US7645312B2)
A pleated filter element includes a composite depth filter medium formed into a plurality of pleats. The composite depth filter medium includes a plurality of depth filter media layers, each including adsorber particulate matter, each layer having a thickness less than about 1300 microns, with at least 50% by weight of adsorber particulate matter across the layers.Assigned to 3M Innovative Properties Company; published 2010-01-12.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6372004B1 | High efficiency depth filter and methods of forming the same | 125 |
| 2 | US4116738A | Continuous production of tubular modular filter elements using nonwoven webs from thermoplastic fibers and pr… | 116 |
| 3 | US3645402A | Liquid coolant conditioner | 113 |
| 4 | US20070084786A1 | Filter, filter media, and methods for making same | 110 |
| 5 | US4032457A | Plural stage filter cartridge wherein at least one stage comprises pulverized particulate material | 110 |
| 6 | WO2001003802A1 | Composite filter and method of making the same | 106 |
| 7 | US20130037481A1 | Nonwoven nanofiber WEBS containing chemically active particulates and methods of making and using same | 99 |
| 8 | US6337026B1 | Leukocyte reduction filtration media | 88 |
| 9 | WO2000054866A1 | Responsive GELS and methods of use thereof | 78 |
| 10 | US5770073A | Combined cardiotomy and venous reservoir | 69 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and favour older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three read-throughs from the concentration, technology mix and jurisdiction data.
Claim territory is tight at the top
Five assignees together hold nearly half of all records in scope, and the leader alone accounts for 178 records. A new entrant filing broad media-composition claims is filing into occupied space; differentiation has to come from a specific pore-gradient, chemistry or bioprocess-stream combination rather than a general depth-filter structure.
Substrate engineering is thin relative to filtration mechanics
B01D separation-process claims dominate at 63.0% of records, but nonwoven and felt substrate claims (D04H) sit at only 6.9%. That gap suggests the physical media substrate — as distinct from the filtration function itself — carries comparatively light claim density.
Post-peak activity has thinned, but read the tail carefully
Filings peaked in 2020 at 99 records and declined through the 2021-2024 window by half. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 figures are not yet reliable evidence of a further slowdown — they are simply incomplete.
Protection is sought across multiple hubs, not one
The United States leads receiving offices, but Europe, Israel, WIPO/PCT, Australia and Canada each carry meaningful counts. A freedom-to-operate check confined to one office would miss a substantial share of the family footprint.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to depth filtration filter media selection, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim territory
The ranking covers 100 assignees drawn from the full 579-record dataset — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, but the whole ranking the data returns. A small group holds the bulk of the volume; the rest is a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants.
One assignee dominates by volume
The leading assignee's record count is more than double the combined total of positions five through ten, marking it as the reference point for freedom-to-operate review in this space.
A sharp drop after the leader
Fifth place holds 16 records versus the leader's 178 — the concentration is front-loaded rather than evenly spread across the top ranks.
The top 10 close near single digits
By the tenth ranked assignee, counts have fallen to 9 records, and the top 10 combined reach 332 records — 57.3% of all 579 in scope, leaving a long tail below.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc | 0 | -100% |
| Pall Corp | 0 | — |
| 3M Innovative Properties Co | 0 | — |
| BASF Corporation | 0 | — |
| W L Gore & Associates GmbH | 0 | — |
| Baldwin Filters Inc | 0 | — |
| Indian Institute of Technology | 0 | — |
| MATIV LUXEMBOURG | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next checks depending on what you are trying to decide.
Map claim scope against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 178 of 579 records, a freedom-to-operate review should start there before broader searching.
Explore in EurekaCheck the under-claimed substrate branches
D04H nonwoven claims sit at 6.9% of records against B01D's 63.0% — a candidate area for a first-mover claim.
Explore in EurekaVerify recent-year filings directly
Publication lag means 2025-2026 counts understate real activity; a live search closes that gap faster than waiting for the record to catch up.
Explore in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
The dataset's assignee ranking covers 100 companies drawn from 579 records, and the leader alone accounts for 178 of them — more than triple the fifth-ranked assignee's 16. The top five combined hold 274 records, or 47.3% of all records in scope, so filing activity is heavily front-loaded rather than evenly spread. Anyone assessing freedom to operate in this space should treat that leader's portfolio as the first stop, not one entry among many.
Filing activity peaked in 2020 at 99 records and declined through the 2021-to-2024 window by 50%, from 34 down to 17 records. That drop is real for the years it covers, but 2025 and 2026 figures should not be read as continuing that decline, because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months and recent-year counts are still incomplete. The honest read is that the field passed its filing peak several years ago and has settled to a lower but not yet fully visible rate.
B01D, the separation-processes classification, appears on 63.0% of the 579 records and is the anchor class for this field. C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) and C07K (peptides and proteins) appear on 39.0% and 28.0% of records respectively, reflecting how often depth filter media claims are tied to a specific bioprocessing or protein-purification context rather than filed as a standalone mechanical structure. A61K medicinal-preparation claims and G01N testing-method claims each cover roughly a fifth of records, showing meaningful but secondary overlap.
The clearest signal is the gap between B01D's 63.0% coverage of core filtration-process claims and D04H's 6.9% coverage of nonwoven and felt substrate claims — the physical media substrate is comparatively lightly claimed relative to the filtration function built on top of it. Extractables profiling, particle-retention test methodology, and binding-capacity tuning for specific cell-culture streams are narrower branches worth checking individually before filing, since they sit adjacent to dense claim areas without being as heavily occupied themselves. Any white-space claim should still be checked against the leading assignee's specific portfolio, since broad concentration at the top can mask narrower blocking claims in these branches.
The United States leads receiving offices with 161 filings in this dataset, followed by the European Patent Office at 88 and the Israeli patent office at 65 — a notably strong showing for IL relative to typical filtration datasets. WIPO/PCT filings at 58, plus Australia and Canada, round out a spread that suggests applicants are protecting depth filtration filter media inventions across multiple bioprocessing markets rather than concentrating in a single office. A jurisdiction-limited clearance search would miss a meaningful share of the relevant family footprint here.
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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.