Flame Retardant Engineering Plastics Patents: Top Filers 2026
- 59.5% concentration. The top 5 of 56 ranked assignees hold 141 of 237 records in scope — a genuinely top-heavy field for new entrants to read carefully before drafting claims.
- C08K and C08L dominate. 86.5% and 75.9% of records respectively sit in additive-use and polymer-composition classes, leaving connector/coating-adjacent classes like H01R and C09D thinly claimed.
- Filing has cooled since 2018. Activity peaked at 15 records in 2018; recent years run lower, though the newest year is undercounted because publication lags filing by about 18 months.
Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 237 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 237 published records at the intersection of flame retardant chemistry and engineering plastics — compositions built around glow wire performance, comparative tracking index, hydrolytic stability, glass fibre wicking resistance, colour stability and processing-temperature tolerance. These are the properties that separate a flame retardant additive package that survives real molding and end-use conditions from one that only passes a lab flammability test. The scope spans 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, with publication lag meaning the final one to two years are understated.
Filing offices skew toward Europe and the US, with EPO and USPTO the two largest receiving offices ahead of WIPO/PCT filings, AT, India and Australia — consistent with a field driven by electrical and automotive component makers who need regulatory coverage in those markets first.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 237-record dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings ran at 12 in 2017, peaked at 15 in 2018, and have since declined toward the single digits, with 2026 showing 1 record so far. Treat the last one to two years as a floor, not a ceiling, given the roughly 18-month gap between filing and publication.
IPC subclass composition
C08K (use of additives in polymers) and C08L (polymer compositions) cover 86.5% and 75.9% of the 237 records respectively — the core additive-and-matrix claim space. Smaller shares in C09K, C08J, C08G, C09D, H01R and B29C mark adjacent application areas — materials for miscellaneous applications, processing, condensation polymers, coatings, connectors and shaping — where coverage is comparatively thin. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares sum to more than 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 237 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Flame Retardants for Engineering Plastics with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about flame retardants for engineering plastics and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative claim
US11981812B2 — Flame retardant polyamide composition
A polyamide composition combining inorganic fibres with a flame retardant system built on zinc phosphinate and a nitrogen-containing polyphosphate. The claimed compositions target specific thresholds for Glow Wire Ignition Temperature, Glow Wire End Product Temperature, Glow Wire Flammability Index and UL94 V0 rating at defined thicknesses, alongside comparative tracking index performance.Filed by Celanese Sales Germany, published 2024-05-14.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20050250885A1 | Halogen-free flame retardant polyamide composition with improved electrical properties | 100 |
| 2 | US20060058432A1 | Halogen-free flame retardant polyamide composition with improved electrical and flammability properties | 94 |
| 3 | US5424344A | Flame retardant polyamide compositions | 64 |
| 4 | US5863974A | Flame retardant polyamide composition | 60 |
| 5 | US20040021135A1 | Halogen-free flame retarder composition and flame retardant polyamide composition | 56 |
| 6 | US5071894A | Flame retardant polyamides | 55 |
| 7 | US5714550A | Flame retardant polyamide-polyphenylene ether compositions | 53 |
| 8 | WO2005118698A1 | Halogen-free flame retardant polyamide composition with improved electrical and flammability properties | 51 |
| 9 | US20110152420A1 | Poly(arylene ether)/polyamide compositions, methods, and articles | 49 |
| 10 | US7803856B2 | Halogen-free flame retardant polyamide composition with improved electrical and flammability properties | 48 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and favour older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
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Three patterns stand out once the ranking, the IPC split and the citation table are read together.
The top of the field is dense, not just tall
With the top 10 holding 76.8% of all 237 records, most of the remaining 46 ranked assignees hold small, single-digit counts. A new entrant is filing into a field where the core polyamide/additive claim space has been worked over repeatedly by a handful of holders.
Additive chemistry is crowded; connector-integration is not
C08K and C08L together cover most of the dataset, meaning core flame retardant additive and polymer-composition claims sit on dense prior art. H01R (connectors) and C09D (coatings) each sit at 3.4% of records — evidence of thinner claim coverage where flame retardant plastics meet electrical hardware or surface treatment.
Filing activity has cooled from its 2018 peak
Recent-year momentum by assignee shows most named leaders at zero filings in the latest year, with only one showing a single filing (down 50% year over year). Read the newest years cautiously: publication lag means 2025-2026 volumes will rise as pending applications publish.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to flame retardants for engineering plastics, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim space
The ranking covers 56 assignees active in this dataset, from long-established materials companies to their divisional and successor entities.
A single filer leads by a wide margin
The top-ranked assignee holds 68 of the 237 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 12 and tenth place at 7 — a gap that signals a long-standing, well-resourced filing programme rather than a recent entrant.
The drop-off after the leader group is steep
Counts fall quickly from fifth place (12 records) to tenth (7), then thin further across the remaining 46 ranked assignees. Co-assignee pairs are rare — 10 pairs total — suggesting most filers in this space work independently rather than through joint development.
Recent activity has gone quiet among established names
Several of the historically largest filers show zero filings in the latest year, and the one assignee with any recent activity filed a single record, down 50% year over year. This is consistent with a maturing core claim space rather than an active filing race.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Ascend Performance Materials | 1 | -50% |
| DSM IP Assets B.V. | 0 | — |
| General Electric Company | 0 | — |
| DSM N.V. | 0 | — |
| E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. | 0 | — |
| SABIC Innovative Plastics IP B.V. | 0 | — |
| Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a mature, concentrated core and a thinner set of adjacent claim areas. Two directions make sense depending on what you're trying to decide.
Check freedom to operate against the leader group
With 59.5% of records held by five assignees, any new filing in the core polyamide/additive space needs a claim chart against those holders' active families before drafting, not after.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaExplore the under-claimed branches
Connector integration, coatings and molding-process claims sit at low single-digit shares of the dataset — worth a closer look if the core additive space is too crowded to file into cleanly.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions on flame retardant engineering plastics patents
The ranking covers 56 assignees, and it is top-heavy: the top 5 hold 141 of the 237 records in scope (59.5%), and the top 10 hold 76.8%. The leading assignee alone holds 68 records, well ahead of fifth place at 12 and tenth place at 7. This means most of the remaining ranked companies hold only a handful of filings each, so competitive monitoring should focus first on the small leader group rather than trying to track all 56.
Based on this dataset's scope, claims commonly reference glow wire test performance (ignition temperature, flammability index), comparative tracking index, hydrolytic stability, glass fibre wicking resistance, colour stability and processing-temperature tolerance. These are functional, standards-referenced properties rather than pure chemistry claims, which is why many filings cite specific test methods such as IEC-60695 series standards and UL94 ratings alongside composition language.
Start with C08K (use of additives in polymers) and C08L (polymer compositions), which together cover the large majority of the 237 records in this dataset — 86.5% and 75.9% respectively. Secondary classes worth checking include C09K, C08J and C08G, each covering roughly a tenth of records. Classes like C09D, H01R and B29C are far less represented, which can mean either less activity or claims drafted primarily under the core polymer classes even when they touch coatings or connectors.
Filing activity peaked at 15 records in 2018 and has trended down since, with the most recent year showing only 1 record. However, growth rates are not reliable to compute here because fewer than four complete years remain once the roughly 18-month publication lag is accounted for — so recent-looking declines partly reflect applications not yet published rather than a confirmed slowdown.
US11981812B2, held by Celanese Sales Germany, claims a polyamide composition with inorganic fibres and a flame retardant system built on zinc phosphinate plus a nitrogen-containing polyphosphate, tied to specific glow wire and UL94 V0 thresholds at defined thicknesses. Anyone developing a similar zinc-phosphinate-based system for glow-wire-rated engineering plastics should map their formulation and test thresholds against this claim closely, since it is a recent (2024) grant rather than an older, more easily designed-around filing.
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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.