Molded Pulp Packaging Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
A data-backed view of the molded pulp packaging patent landscape: leading assignees, filing trends since 2015, technology classes and where claim space is still open.
Filing growth = 2021 (9 records) → 2024 (8); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 145 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
What the molded pulp packaging patent record shows
The dataset covers 145 published records filed between 2015 and the 2026 cut-off, drawn from filings that name molded pulp packaging directly in the title or claims alongside a packaging-material or packaging-container reference. Filing activity is spread across a wide base of receiving offices rather than concentrated in one jurisdiction, with the United States and China each accounting for the largest shares, followed by smaller volumes from the Philippines, the WIPO PCT route, Japan and the EPO.
No single company dominates the field. The ranked leader sits at 11 records out of 79 ranked assignees, and concentration at the top is moderate rather than extreme — the top 10 combined account for 43.4% of all records in scope, leaving well over half the field to entrants filing in small numbers. That pattern matters for anyone assessing freedom to operate: it signals a technology where claim space is still being staked out, not one already locked up by a handful of incumbents.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 145 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Volume rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2022, then eased to 8 by 2024 — an -11% move from 2021's 9 over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 are undercounted because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months; treat the most recent two years as incomplete rather than as a declining trend.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
B65D (containers and packaging) appears in 99.3% of the 145 records, confirming that molded pulp packaging claims are filed overwhelmingly as container/packaging art. Smaller subclasses — B65B packaging and wrapping at 6.9%, A23P food shaping at 3.4%, D21J fibreboard and moulded pulp at 2.8% — mark the more specific process and application niches layered on top of that base.
Shares are the percentage of the 145 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Molded Pulp Packaging Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about molded pulp packaging patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
PH22015000054Y1 — Molded pulp egg packaging container
An egg packaging container made of molded pulp from recycled or processed paper, comprising an egg tray member and a cover member integrally hinged at the rear. The tray carries a flap with a locking tab that engages a corresponding slot on the cover, and that flap also supports the eggs once the cover is mounted. The cover's upper portion forms a trough with spaced window openings that expose the eggs inside.Filed by Mae Syki Young, 2015-02-18 — an early filing in the coverage window, illustrating how tray/cover locking geometry and viewing-window features get claimed in application-specific molded pulp packaging.
View full record| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5335770A | Molded pulp fiber interior package cushioning structures | 93 |
| 2 | US3732976A | Package for fragile articles | 63 |
| 3 | US2863595A | Molded pulp packaging members | 61 |
| 4 | US20080210584A1 | Fiber-cast packaging with inner bag and method for the production thereof | 57 |
| 5 | US20120037529A1 | Bottle shipment packaging and method | 54 |
| 6 | US6325210B1 | Wine bottle package | 54 |
| 7 | US3233812A | Molded pulp container | 49 |
| 8 | US2917216A | Individual serving pack | 41 |
| 9 | US2838173A | Packing for fragile articles | 40 |
| 10 | US5816409A | Molded pulp fiber interior package cushioning structures | 35 |
Citation counts reward older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations inside this searched corpus — read them as a signal of influence on later filers, not as a measure of current commercial importance.
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 a filing decision
Four read-outs from the dataset that bear directly on where to file, who to watch, and where claim space is still open.
Leadership is real but not a lock
The ranked leader holds 11 records and the top 5 combined take 28.3% of all 145 records in scope. That is enough to matter in a freedom-to-operate check, but it leaves more than two-thirds of the field to a long tail of assignees filing in small numbers — a structure closer to an open field than a duopoly.
Activity has cooled from its 2022 peak, not collapsed
Filings peaked at 17 in 2022 before easing to 8 by 2024, a decline the dataset states as -11% over that three-year span. 2025-26 counts will rise as later publications land, so this should be read as a plateau after a filing surge rather than a shrinking field.
Almost everything sits in the same core class
B65D covers 99.3% of the 145 records, meaning nearly every filing is anchored in general container/packaging claims. The differentiation between filings happens in the secondary classes — D21J moulded-pulp process claims and A23P food-shaping claims — which are each claimed by a small minority of records.
Filing activity splits between two anchor markets
The United States (48) and China (44) are the two largest receiving offices, with the Philippines, WIPO PCT, Japan and the EPO trailing at single digits. A strategy built only around one of the two anchor markets misses roughly half the documented activity in the other.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to molded pulp packaging patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| KEYES FIBER | BANZURU FURETABUKUSUPATSUKU | 1 |
The strongest co-assignee pairing in the dataset appears only once, between Keyes Fiber and a partner entity — co-development filings are the exception rather than the rule in molded pulp packaging.
Where to take this analysis
The ranking, trend and citation tables on this page are a starting point. The next steps depend on whether the question is defensive, competitive or exploratory.
Check freedom to operate against the most-cited records
The five most-cited records anchor a large share of downstream citation activity. Any new tray, cushioning or cover-locking design should be checked against these before filing.
Run a clearance search in EurekaTrack the entrants below the top 10
With 43.4% of records held by the top 10 and the rest spread across a long tail, new entrants are still establishing position. Watching filing velocity among mid-tier assignees flags who is scaling up.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaProbe the under-claimed secondary classes
D21J, A23P and the other secondary IPC classes each cover a small minority of records. That gap is where narrower, more defensible claims around specific pulp-forming or food-contact processes may still be available.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions about the molded pulp packaging patent landscape
The dataset ranks 79 assignees by record count, with the leader holding 11 of the 145 records in scope. The top 5 combined account for 28.3% of all records, and the top 10 combined account for 43.4% — a moderate concentration that leaves the majority of the field to a long tail of smaller filers. Because families rather than raw documents are the fairer comparison unit, this ranking is a useful starting point for identifying who to watch, but it should not be read as a small closed group controlling the space.
Filing volume rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2022, then eased to 8 by 2024 — a decline the dataset states as -11% across the 2021-to-2024 span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as evidence of a shrinking field. The more defensible read is a filing surge around 2021-22 followed by a plateau at a lower but still active level.
Nearly all records, 99.3% of the 145 in scope, sit in IPC subclass B65D covering containers and packaging generally. Smaller shares touch B65B packaging and wrapping processes, A23P food shaping and forming, and D21J fibreboard and moulded pulp specifically. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% of records and should be read as overlapping technology tags rather than mutually exclusive categories.
The United States and China are the two largest receiving offices in this dataset, at 48 and 44 records respectively, with the Philippines, the WIPO PCT route, Japan and the EPO each contributing single-digit counts. A filing strategy anchored only in one of the two largest markets would miss a substantial share of documented activity in the other. The PCT route's 9 records also indicate that some applicants are deliberately keeping jurisdictional options open rather than filing directly.
Yes, on the evidence of both the assignee concentration and the class composition. The top 10 assignees hold only 43.4% of all 145 records, leaving most of the field open, and secondary IPC classes like D21J and A23P are claimed by only a small minority of records compared with the dominant B65D base class. That combination — a long tail of filers and thin coverage in adjacent process and application classes — is the signature of a field where narrower, well-drafted claims can still find clear space.
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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.