Flexible Substrate & Polyimide Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
Flexible substrate and polyimide processing patents: who leads and where the openings are
Concentration is modest at the top. the five leading assignees hold 15.1% of all 7,265 records in scope, and the ranked ten hold 24.3% — a long tail does most of the filing here. Annual filings rose to a peak of 315 records in 2018, then eased; the 2021-to-2024 window shows a 20% decline (222 to 178 records). Counts for 2025 and 2026 are undercounted because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent bars should not be read as a further drop.
- 13M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO5.0%
- 2EASTMAN KODAK CO2.9%
- 3LG CHEM LTD2.8%
- 4EI DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO2.3%
- 5TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE SA2.2%
See the full flexible substrate and polyimide processing analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who are the leading patent filers in flexible substrate and polyimide processing?
The ranking covers 100 companies, with the leading assignee holding 360 records and fifth place holding 158. Concentration is modest overall: the top five combined account for 15.1% of all 7,265 records in scope, and the ranked ten account for 24.3%. That means the majority of filing activity sits with a long tail of smaller or single-filing entrants rather than a handful of dominant players, so a freedom-to-operate check needs to look well beyond the largest names.
Is patent filing in this field growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked in 2018 at 315 records and the most recent complete comparison window, 2021 to 2024, shows a 20% decline from 222 to 178 records. Figures for 2025 and 2026 in the raw trend understate real activity because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so those bars will rise as more records publish. Read the 2021-2024 window as the reliable signal, not the tail end of the chart.
What does US8107777B2 actually cover, and does it block new adhesive-layer work?
US8107777B2 claims a polyimide substrate bonded to a germanium wafer via an adhesive layer that must remain flexible after curing, carry a low coefficient of thermal expansion, cure without added heat, and hold uniform thickness across the bond line. It is a useful reference point for anyone filing around adhesive-mediated bonding or debonding of flexible substrates, since those specific adhesive property claims are exactly where a new filing would need to differentiate. It does not cover every bonding method in the field, only the specific adhesive characteristics and process sequence it claims.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Flexible Substrate and Polyimide Processing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.