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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/photopolymer-resins-for-3d-printing-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Photopolymer Resins for 3D PrintingPhotopolymer resin patents for 3D printing: who holds the resin chemistry claims and where filing has cooled
- Filing peaked in 2018 at 26 families and has declined since, with the 2022 midpoint at just 9 — this is a maturing claim space, not a growing one.
- The most-cited records are a decade old US9777097B2 and the thiol-ene composition pair (EP1477511A1, US20070043205A1) still anchor citation counts well above newer filings.
- Momentum has narrowed to a handful of filers Nissan North America and Northwestern University are the only assignees with activity in the latest year; several former filers, including Procter & Gamble, show a -100% YoY drop.
136
Published Records
51%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-31%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (16 records) with 2024 (11) — 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 136 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··6 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What the patent record shows about photopolymer resin claims
Photopolymer resins sit at the intersection of vinyl and condensation polymer chemistry (C08F, C08G) and additive-manufacturing hardware claims (B33Y, B29C). The 136 families in this dataset cluster heavily around cure behaviour — cure depth, green strength, post-curing and shrinkage — rather than around the printer mechanics themselves, which is consistent with a field where the resin formulation, not the light source, is the differentiating IP.
Filing activity rose through the mid-2010s, peaked in 2018, and has trended down since; because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the final one or two years in any chart will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be, but the multi-year decline predates that lag effect.
Filings by year, 2017–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Data
Filing trend and technology composition
The dataset spans 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, drawing on IPC classification, receiving-office data and citation counts across 136 published families.
A peak-and-decline filing curve
Filings ran 16 in 2017, climbed to a peak of 26 in 2018, and had fallen to 9 by the 2022 midpoint. The United States dominates receiving offices with 78 filings, well ahead of EPO and WIPO/PCT at 16 each, suggesting most applicants treat this as a US-first filing strategy with selective international coverage.
Cure chemistry outweighs printer mechanics
B29C (shaping of plastics) and B33Y (additive manufacturing) lead the IPC composition at 105 and 101 records respectively, with C08F (addition polymers) at 39. Smaller counts in G03F (photolithography) and C09D (coatings) point to adjacent formulation know-how that has not yet been claimed as densely as the core resin and process categories.
Shares are the percentage of the 136 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about photopolymer resins for 3d printing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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The records other filings cite most
Representative recent filing
3D printing system including a layer of an inert material between a textured surface and a liquid photopolymer resin
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
A 3D printing system includes a tank containing a liquid photopolymer resin, with a textured surface fixedly disposed in the tank through which light passes into the resin. A layer of inert material sits directly between the textured surface and the resin, substantially immiscible and non-reactive with it, and matched in refractive index to reduce interface effects during cure.Filed by Nissan North America, published 2026-06-04 — one of only two assignees with recorded activity in the most recent filing year.
Most-cited photopolymer resin patents
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US9777097B2 | Thermal and photo-initiation curing system of photopolymer resin for 3D printing | 54 |
| 2 | EP1477511A1 | Radiation curable thiol-ene composition | 47 |
| 3 | US20070043205A1 | Radiation curable thiol-ene composition | 40 |
| 4 | US8980971B2 | Stereolithography resin compositions and three-dimensional objects made therefrom | 32 |
| 5 | US20100227941A1 | Stereolithography resin compositions and three-dimensional objects made therefrom | 26 |
| 6 | US20170022312A1 | Additive use for enhancing the performance of photopolymer resin for 3D printing | 24 |
| 7 | US20200378067A1 | Methods of making a deflection member | 23 |
| 8 | WO2017222602A1 | System and method for reducing three-dimensional additive manufacturing production time | 23 |
| 9 | JP2004043573A | Resin composition | 22 |
| 10 | US20170022311A1 | Additive use for enhancing the performance of photopolymer resin for 3D printing | 16 |
Citation counts are measured within this searched corpus and favour older records; treat them as a signal of influence on later filings, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Reading the filing pattern
Three figures from the dataset frame where this field currently stands: how concentrated the technology is, how the geography splits, and how citation weight sits with older art.
Filing trajectory
26 → 9
peak year (2018) vs. 2022 midpoint
Growth has flattened, not accelerated
The peak year of 26 filings in 2018 was not sustained; by the 2022 midpoint annual filings had dropped to 9, and the trend line through 2026 continues that decline rather than reversing it.
Source: filing trend, 2017-2026
Geographic concentration
78 of 122
US filings among the six leading receiving offices
A US-centric filing strategy
United States filings (78) outnumber EPO and WIPO/PCT combined (16 each); Canada, Australia and India each register in single digits, indicating most applicants are not pursuing broad multi-jurisdiction coverage for this chemistry.
Source: receiving-office counts
Citation concentration
54 citations
top-cited record, US9777097B2
Influence sits with pre-2018 art
The five most-cited records, including the thiol-ene composition family cited both as EP1477511A1 and US20070043205A1, all predate the 2018 peak, meaning the foundational chemistry claims were staked out early and later filings largely build on them.
Source: most-cited records table
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to photopolymer resins for 3d printing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is still active, and who has stepped back
Recent-year momentum data separates a small group of currently active filers from a larger set of assignees whose activity has gone quiet.
Currently active
1 filing
latest-year activity
Nissan North America and Northwestern University
These are the only two assignees with recorded filings in the latest year, and they also form the strongest co-assignee pair in the dataset at 11 joint filings, pointing to an ongoing academic-industrial collaboration on resin formulation.
Source: recent-year momentum
Gone quiet
-100% YoY
Procter & Gamble
Several former filers show zero recent activity
Procter & Gamble, Alcon, Formlabs and B9Creations all show zero filings in the latest year, with Procter & Gamble specifically recorded at a -100% year-on-year change, suggesting these firms have either shifted strategy or completed their core filing programmes.
Source: recent-year momentum by assignee
Cross-entity filing
10 pairs
co-assignee relationships recorded
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Of ten recorded co-assignee pairs, one relationship (Nissan North America with Northwestern University) accounts for by far the largest joint-filing count; the remaining pairs, including Alcon with Novartis, register only two joint filings each.
Source: co-assignee pairs
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan North America | 1 | — |
| Northwestern University | 1 | — |
| Procter & Gamble | 0 | -100% |
| Alcon | 0 | — |
| Formlabs | 0 | — |
| B9Creations, LLC | 0 | — |
| Novartis AG (Switzerland) | 0 | — |
| Carbon, Inc. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this analysis
The filing and citation data point to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio strategy or research direction.
Check freedom-to-operate against the most-cited families
Before drafting formulation claims around cure depth or green strength, review the thiol-ene composition family and the stereolithography resin compositions family directly, since these anchor the highest citation counts in the corpus.
Explore claim scope in EurekaTrack the Nissan-Northwestern collaboration
This is the only pairing with sustained latest-year output; its filing pattern is a useful proxy for where active resin-formulation research is currently headed.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaAssess the under-claimed formulation branches
Photoinitiator systems and shrinkage-compensation additives show lower filing density than core cure-behaviour claims, which may indicate open space rather than settled art.
Run a white-space search in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about photopolymer resin patents
The most-cited records in this dataset include US9777097B2, covering a thermal and photo-initiation curing system, and a thiol-ene composition family published as both EP1477511A1 and US20070043205A1. Stereolithography resin composition patents (US8980971B2 and its earlier publication US20100227941A1) also carry heavy citation weight. These records predate the 2018 filing peak, meaning most later filings build on chemistry these families staked out first, rather than introducing entirely new resin platforms.
No, filing activity has declined since a 2018 peak of 26 families, dropping to a midpoint of 9 filings in 2022. Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the very latest years in any chart understate true activity, but the multi-year downward trend predates that lag and reflects a genuine slowdown rather than a reporting artefact. This pattern is more consistent with a maturing, consolidated field than an emerging one.
Recent-year momentum data shows only two assignees, Nissan North America and Northwestern University, with recorded filings in the latest year, and they are also the strongest co-assignee pair in the dataset. Other formerly active filers, including Procter & Gamble, Alcon, Formlabs and B9Creations, show zero filings in the latest year, with Procter & Gamble specifically down 100% year-on-year. This suggests current formulation research is concentrated in a small, collaborative group rather than spread across the historical filer base.
IPC classification shows the bulk of filings sit in B29C (shaping of plastics, 105 records) and B33Y (additive manufacturing, 101 records), with C08F (addition polymers, 39 records) forming the core resin chemistry category. Smaller counts appear in C08G (condensation polymers), G03F (photolithography) and C09D (coatings), which are adjacent formulation areas rather than the dataset's centre of mass. In practice, this means most claims are about resin behaviour during the printing process, not the printer hardware itself.
Sub-areas such as thiol-ene cure kinetics beyond the two heavily cited founding families, post-cure shrinkage compensation additives, and photoinitiator systems tuned for high cure depth all show lower filing density than the core cure-behaviour claims. The overlap with coatings chemistry (C09D, 14 records) is similarly thin relative to the 105-record B29C category. These lower-density branches are worth a freedom-to-operate check before assuming they are blocked, since low density can mean either genuine openness or simply less commercial attention to date.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Photopolymer Resins for 3D Printing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.