PEEK and High-Temperature Polymers Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing has cooled since its 2023 peak. Eleven families published that year against a flat-to-declining trend through the 2022 midpoint, with 2026 filings not yet visible due to publication lag.
- Compositions dominate, processing crowds behind. C08L polymer-composition filings (60 records) outnumber C08J processing filings (35) and C08K additive filings (33), showing where claims have already been staked.
- The founding chemistry is still the most cited. US4592782A and EP0119815A2, both original PEEK composition-of-matter filings, remain the most-cited records in the corpus decades after publication.
Filing growth compares 2021 (1 records) with 2024 (2) — 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 93 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the PEEK and high-temperature polymer patent record shows
PEEK and adjacent high-temperature thermoplastics form a narrow but technically dense filing corpus. Ninety-three patent families published between 2015 and the 2026 data cut span composition claims, processing routes, additive systems and shaping methods, concentrated under C08L, C08J, C08K and B29C. The receiving-office mix leans heavily on Europe and Japan, with the United States and PCT filings trailing, which tells a filer where examiners have already built up the deepest prior-art base against these claim types.
Filing activity rose gradually through the late 2010s, peaked in 2023 at eleven families, and has not sustained that pace since. Because publication typically lags filing by around eighteen months, the apparent drop into 2025 and 2026 understates real activity; the honest read is that momentum has flattened rather than collapsed.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 93-family corpus: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how those filings split across the IPC subclasses that define composition, processing, additive and shaping claims.
A flat-to-declining trend after a 2023 peak
Filings moved from 3 in 2017 to a peak of 11 in 2023, sat at 6 by the 2022 midpoint, and show 0 in 2026 — a figure that reflects publication lag rather than a real stop in filing.
Compositions lead, additives and shaping close behind
C08L polymer compositions account for the largest single share of records (60), ahead of C08J processing and solution claims (35) and C08K additive claims (33); B29C shaping-of-plastics filings (29) and C08G condensation-polymer filings (19) round out the core clusters.
Shares are the percentage of the 93 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on PEEK and High-Temperature Polymers with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about peek and high-temperature polymers and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe filings other applicants build on — and the one just published
Polyether ether ketone decomposition method and novel substance made from its decomposition product
Filed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, this application describes a method for decomposing PEEK using a base plus an alkanethiol, aromatic mercaptan, sodium sulfide or elemental sulfur in an organic solvent, and claims novel compounds synthesised from the resulting decomposition products.Published 2025-06-19 — recent enough that its citation profile has not yet developed.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4592782A | Composition of matter incorporating polyether ether ketone | 60 |
| 2 | JP2010123389A | Insulated wire | 42 |
| 3 | EP0119815A2 | Composition of matter incorporating polyether ether ketone | 34 |
| 4 | JP1984184254A | Polyaryl ketone resin composition | 27 |
| 5 | JP1983063417A | Preparation of isotropically oriented polyether either ketone film | 19 |
| 6 | JP1989283127A | Polyether ether ketone film and its manufacture | 17 |
| 7 | EP0368003A2 | Microporous polyether ether ketone membranes and the preparation thereof | 16 |
| 8 | JP1988118357A | Tetrafluoroethylene resin composition | 13 |
| 9 | JP1988256422A | Manufacture of polyether ether ketone film | 12 |
| 10 | WO2008048266A1 | Polyether ether ketone/ polyphenylene sulfide blend | 10 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to be cited; treat this table as a map of foundational influence, not 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 filing pattern means for a decision
Three read-throughs from the trend, the IPC split and the citation table that matter more to a filing strategy than the raw counts alone.
The peak has already passed
Filing rose through the high single digits by 2022 and hit its recorded peak of 11 families in 2023 before easing off. Combined with an 18-month publication lag, this points to a technology area where the core claim positions were staked in the early 2020s rather than one still accelerating.
Composition claims are the most crowded
C08L polymer-composition filings outnumber every other subclass, meaning new composition-of-matter claims on PEEK blends and copolymers face the densest prior art. Processing (C08J) and additive (C08K) claims carry more room to differentiate.
Foundational chemistry still anchors the field
The two most-cited records in the corpus are both original composition-of-matter filings for polyether ether ketone from the 1980s. Their continued citation weight signals that later filings are still built as refinements on that base chemistry rather than departures from it.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to peek and high-temperature polymers, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the map still has gaps
Recent-year momentum across the tracked assignees shows zero new filings in the latest year for every name in the ranking, consistent with the corpus-wide slowdown rather than any single company exiting the space.
No assignee shows fresh latest-year momentum
Every assignee tracked in the recent-momentum view, from major Japanese chemical majors to specialty resin producers, shows zero filings in the most recent year. This is consistent with the broader publication-lag effect rather than a genuine pullback by any one filer.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated
Only four co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest repeated pairing involves the same corporate assignee filing alongside individual named inventors. Formal joint-assignee patenting is not a common structure in this space.
Europe and Japan carry the deepest filing history
The European Patent Office receives the largest share of filings (32), followed by Japan (25) and the United States (15), with WIPO/PCT and smaller national offices trailing. A filer entering this space should expect the thickest prior art in European and Japanese-language records.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
| SHPP Global Technologies B.V. | 0 | — |
| Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Lotte Chemical Corporation | 0 | — |
| AEPLC | 0 | — |
| Kaneka Corporation | 0 | — |
| Ticona GmbH | 0 | — |
| Teijin Limited | 0 | — |
Where to take this from here
The published record only gets a filer partway to a filing decision. These next steps narrow from landscape to claim-level detail.
Check freedom-to-operate against the founding composition claims
US4592782A and EP0119815A2 still anchor citation chains across the corpus; any new composition-of-matter claim on PEEK or PEEK blends should be checked against their scope before drafting.
Explore prior art in Eureka →Watch the under-claimed processing and additive branches
B01D filtration overlap and wear-performance additive systems carry lower filing density than core composition claims, leaving more room for a defensible first-claim position.
Map white space in Eureka →Track assignees through the publication-lag window
Zero recent-year filings across ranked assignees likely reflects the 18-month lag rather than an actual stop; revisit momentum once 2025–2026 filings finish publishing.
Set up monitoring in Eureka →Common questions about PEEK and high-temperature polymer patents
The foundational composition-of-matter patents for polyether ether ketone date back to the 1980s, with US4592782A and EP0119815A2 remaining the most-cited records in this corpus decades later. Later filings from Japanese and specialty chemical assignees build on that base chemistry through additive, processing and shaping claims rather than replacing it. Because citation counts favour older records, treat this as a map of foundational influence rather than a list of who is most active today.
Filing activity peaked at 11 families in 2023 and has not sustained that pace since, with the 2022 midpoint at 6 families and a flat-to-declining trend into the most recent years. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the apparent drop-off in 2025 and 2026 understates real filing activity rather than confirming a genuine stop. The honest read is that the technology's core claim positions were largely staked by the early 2020s.
Polymer composition claims under IPC C08L are the most heavily filed category in this corpus at 60 records, ahead of processing and solution claims under C08J (35) and additive claims under C08K (33). Shaping-of-plastics claims under B29C add another 29 records. A new filer targeting composition-of-matter claims should expect the densest prior art there, while filtration-related claims under B01D remain comparatively thin at just 7 records.
The receiving-office data shows Europe (EPO) and Japan carrying the largest share of filings, at 32 and 25 records respectively, with the United States trailing at 15 and PCT/WIPO filings smaller still at 5. This means the deepest prior art a filer must clear sits in European and Japanese-language records, and a filing strategy that only checks US prior art risks missing the bulk of the relevant claim history.
US20250197594A1, filed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and published in mid-2025, claims a method for decomposing PEEK using a base combined with an alkanethiol, aromatic mercaptan, sodium sulfide or elemental sulfur, plus novel compounds made from the resulting decomposition products. It sits in the chemical decomposition and recycling branch of the landscape, an area with comparatively little filing density compared to core composition and processing claims. As a very recent publication, its citation profile and downstream influence are not yet established.
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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.