Polyamide Engineering Plastics Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2017 at 79 records and has since declined to a flat or falling trend through the 2022 midpoint — this is a mature claim landscape, not a growth one.
- Polymer composition claims (C08L) dominate at 1,520 of 1,799 records, nearly triple the condensation-chemistry filings under C08G, showing where the crowding actually sits.
- Recent-year momentum has gone flat across the biggest names Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Asahi Kasei, DuPont, Toray and Toyobo all show zero filings in the latest year, with Mitsui Chemicals down 100% YoY.
Filing growth compares 2021 (60 records) with 2024 (21) — 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 1,799 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
A mature composition landscape built on additive and reinforcement claims
Polyamide engineering plastics patenting in this dataset concentrates on resin composition claims rather than novel polymer backbones: 1,520 of 1,799 records sit in C08L (polymer compositions) against 613 in C08G (condensation polymers), meaning most recent invention is about what gets blended into polyamide 6 or 66, not how the base polymer is made. Glass-fibre and other additive reinforcement (C08K, 994 records) is nearly as dense as the composition layer itself, and the two overlap heavily in practice. Long-chain polyamide blends, impact modifiers and moisture-resistance formulations recur across the most-cited prior art, which still traces back to foundational 1990s filings on nanocomposite and aromatic-oligomer chemistry.
Filing activity peaked in 2017 and has trended flat to down since, with the 2022 midpoint roughly 40% below the 2017 peak. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the final one or two years in any such trend will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be — but the multi-year decline predates that lag effect and reflects a genuinely settled claim space rather than a data artefact.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,799-family dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
A 2017 peak followed by a multi-year decline
From 79 filings in 2017 to a single-digit count by 2026 (partial year), the trend line does not show a technology in expansion. The 2022 midpoint of 49 sits roughly in between, confirming a gradual retreat rather than a cliff-edge drop.
Composition and additive claims dominate over base chemistry
C08L (polymer compositions, 1,520 records) and C08K (polymer additives, 994) together dwarf C08G (condensation polymers, 613), D01F (fibre features, 62) and B29K (moulding materials index, 85) — most inventive effort here goes into formulation, not monomer or backbone chemistry.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,799 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Polyamide (Nylon) Engineering Plastics with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about polyamide (nylon) engineering plastics and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe prior art still being cited today
Polyamide resin composition and molded article manufactured by using the same
A polyamide resin composition combining 38-82 wt% polyamide 6 with 1-30 wt% long chain polyamide, 15-35 wt% polyolefin-based impact modifier, a small antioxidant package (phenol, amine or phosphite-based) and an ethylene bis stearamide release agent.Filed by KOLON INDUSTRIES, published 2026-07-09 — illustrates how current filings still combine long-chain polyamide with conventional impact-modifier and antioxidant packages rather than introducing new base chemistry.
View full filing| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5385776A | Nanocomposites of gamma phase polymers containing inorganic particulate material | 432 |
| 2 | US5541267A | Polyamide compositions comprising aliphatic polyamide and an aromatic polyamide oligomer having improved mois… | 105 |
| 3 | US4095012A | Oriented nylon and laminates thereof | 94 |
| 4 | US5300572A | Moldable polyester resin compositions and molded articles formed of the same | 91 |
| 5 | US4863996A | Novel impact-resistant polyamide resin composition and process for producing the same | 91 |
| 6 | US4957980A | Polyester resin composition and hollow molded article thereof | 89 |
| 7 | US20090098325A1 | Semi-aromatic polyamide resin | 79 |
| 8 | US5268219A | Polyamide resin composition and film therefrom | 78 |
| 9 | US20090203845A1 | Hydrogen tank liner material and hydrogen tank liner | 73 |
| 10 | US4387184A | Heat stable polyphase polyamide compositions and preparation thereof | 72 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had more years to accumulate citations inside a searched corpus — read this 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.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern tells a claims strategist
Three signals worth reading before drafting: where the citation weight sits, how the receiving-office split shapes filing strategy, and what a co-assignee pattern reveals about internal restructuring.
Foundational nanocomposite art still anchors the field
The most-cited record, US5385776A on gamma-phase nanocomposites, sits far ahead of the next tier at 105 and 94 citations. New filers in moisture-resistance or reinforcement claims are almost certainly building on ground this and a handful of 1990s filings already occupy.
Europe and Japan lead office selection, not China
EPO (542) and Japan (363) receive more filings than the United States (346), with China trailing at 106 despite its manufacturing weight in engineering plastics. That split suggests the strongest active claim protection in this space runs through European and Japanese offices rather than Chinese ones.
Co-assignee pairs trace old corporate lineages
The strongest co-assignee link, Mitsui Chemicals with Mitsui Petrochemical Industries at 13 joint filings, reflects a historical merger rather than an active partnership. Only 10 co-assignee pairs exist across the whole dataset, so most invention here is filed by single entities working alone.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to polyamide (nylon) engineering plastics, with the prior art for and against each one.
A settled field with flat momentum across the largest holders
The named leaders in this dataset — Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Asahi Kasei, DuPont, Toray, Toyobo and Mitsui Chemicals among them — all show zero filings in the most recent year, with Mitsui Chemicals down 100% year over year. That is consistent with a technology where the core composition space has already been claimed rather than one still being actively fought over.
The largest holders have gone quiet
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Asahi Kasei, DuPont, Toray, Toyobo and Mitsui Chemicals each show zero filings in the latest year in this dataset. Their portfolios remain in force, but new claim activity has shifted elsewhere or slowed across the board.
Joint filing is rare and mostly historical
With only 10 co-assignee pairs in the entire dataset, and the strongest pair tracing to a corporate merger (Mitsui Chemicals and Mitsui Petrochemical Industries), most filers here protect their compositions independently rather than through joint ventures.
Newer entrants still work inside established formulation patterns
Kolon Industries' 2026 filing on a polyamide 6 / long-chain polyamide / impact-modifier blend shows that even the newest filings in this space work within the additive-and-modifier formulation pattern the incumbents already established, rather than opening new chemistry.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | 0 | — |
| E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) | 0 | — |
| Toray Industries, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Toyobo Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| UBE Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| Kuraray Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The trend and composition data point to a settled core with a few open edges. Two directions make sense from here.
Check freedom-to-operate against the citation core
Before drafting new composition claims, screen against the handful of heavily-cited 1990s filings that still anchor moisture-resistance and nanocomposite claim language — they are the most likely blocking prior art.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaTrack the under-claimed branches directly
Crystallization-rate modifiers and fibre-surface treatment claims show thinner coverage than the core composition clusters. A targeted search across D01F and adjacent subclasses will confirm how open they actually are.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions about polyamide patent activity
No, not on this evidence. Filing peaked in 2017 at 79 records in this dataset and has trended down since, with the 2022 midpoint at 49 — roughly 40% below the peak. Publication lag means the final year or two in any trend chart looks thinner than it will eventually turn out to be, but the multi-year decline here predates that effect and points to a genuinely mature, largely settled claim space rather than an expanding one.
The dataset's ranking is concentrated among a handful of large chemical manufacturers, including Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Asahi Kasei, DuPont, Toray, Toyobo and Mitsui Chemicals, with a long tail of smaller filers behind them. Notably, all of the largest names show zero filings in the most recent year tracked, and Mitsui Chemicals is down 100% year over year, suggesting the leadership positions were established some years ago rather than being actively contested now.
Polymer composition claims under IPC class C08L are the largest single category at 1,520 of 1,799 records, followed closely by additive and reinforcement claims under C08K at 994. Condensation polymer chemistry (C08G, covering how the base polyamide itself is synthesised) is comparatively smaller at 613 records. In practice this means most invention activity is about what gets blended into an existing polyamide 6 or 66 base — impact modifiers, glass fibre, antioxidants — rather than new backbone chemistry.
The densest, most contested areas sit in composition and additive claims (C08L and C08K), where citation-heavy 1990s art on nanocomposites and moisture-resistant blends still anchors the field. Thinner coverage shows up in more specific branches such as crystallization-rate modifiers for thin-wall moulding, long-chain polyamide hybrid laminates, and fibre-surface treatments under D01F. Any freedom-to-operate work should start by screening the most-cited older filings before assuming a narrower sub-area is open.
US20260193463A1, published 2026-07-09, claims a polyamide resin composition of 38-82 wt% polyamide 6, 1-30 wt% long chain polyamide, 15-35 wt% polyolefin-based impact modifier, a small antioxidant package, and an ethylene bis stearamide release agent. It is a formulation claim built from established additive categories rather than new base polymer chemistry, which is consistent with the broader pattern in this dataset of composition-layer invention over backbone chemistry. Anyone filing a similar impact-modified, long-chain-polyamide blend should check its specific weight-percent ranges for overlap.
Research Polyamide (Nylon) Engineering Plastics in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole polyamide (nylon) engineering plastics corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.