PEEK Molding Process Patents: Leaders & a Flattening Trend 2026
- Filing peaked in 2020 at 27 families and has since drifted back toward 2017 levels, with 2022's 18 filings marking a flat-to-declining midpoint rather than continued growth.
- China leads receiving offices with 106 filings ahead of the EPO (75) and the US (68), putting a majority of recent claim activity under Chinese examination practice.
- Momentum has stalled across the named leaders every major assignee tracked shows zero filings in the latest year, including a -100% YoY drop for one of the largest specialty-polymer holders.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 358 patent families filed between 2017 and mid-2026 that combine PEEK polymer chemistry with molding-specific process claims — injection molding, compression molding, melt processing and high-temperature molding. The search deliberately pairs a material class (polyetheretherketone) with a process class (B29C45, B29C43, C08L71) rather than either alone, so the corpus captures process patents that name PEEK explicitly, not general engineering-plastics filings that happen to mention it in passing.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2026 count of 6 understates actual recent filing activity and should not be read as a cliff. The more reliable signal is the shape from 2017 through the 2020 peak and back down through 2022 — a filing curve that has already completed a cycle rather than one still building.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 358 families: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
A completed filing cycle, not a rising one
Filings rose from 17 in 2017 to a peak of 27 in 2020, then eased to 18 by 2022 and further since. That pattern is consistent with a technology area where core process claims were staked out early in the period and subsequent filing has been incremental rather than expansive.
Polymer composition claims outweigh pure process claims
C08L (polymer compositions, 211 records) and B29C (shaping of plastics, 201 records) dominate, with C08K additive claims (96) and C08G condensation-polymer claims (89) trailing well behind. That gap means most of the claim density sits in what the PEEK compound is made of and how it is shaped, while additive formulation and index classes like B29K and B29L carry comparatively thin coverage.
Shares are the percentage of the 358 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Polyetheretherketone Molding Process with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about polyetheretherketone molding process and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative claim and the most-cited prior art
Injection molding method using PEEK material and molded item (US20180236702A1)
An injection molding method for a molded item uses a PEEK material, with a filling peak pressure specified between 40 MPa and 150 MPa. The material is injected through a multipoint gate and, optionally, a subrunner connected to the runner member by a film gate. A stretching process is then applied to increase length by 1.2 to 5 fold and adjust diameter to between 0.2 mm and 1.0 mm, using an in-mold stretching method.Filed by TOSKABANO'K CO., LTD, published 2018-08-23.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20110151259A1 | Polymeric materials | 185 |
| 2 | US20050228498A1 | Osteoconductive integrated spinal cage and method of making same | 116 |
| 3 | US6428729B1 | Composite substrate carrier | 107 |
| 4 | US5131827A | Fiber- and whisker-reinforced injection moldable resin composition for scroll compressor parts and method of … | 82 |
| 5 | US6022210A | Hot runner nozzle | 80 |
| 6 | US20140277482A1 | Hybrid intervertebral disc spacer device and method of manufacturing the same | 66 |
| 7 | WO2005030836A1 | Polymeric ketone | 53 |
| 8 | JP1991091556A | Conductive resin composition | 52 |
| 9 | US20060251878A1 | Polymeric material | 51 |
| 10 | US9095641B2 | Hybrid polymer/metal plug for treating chondral defects | 46 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus; treat them as a measure of influence on the field, 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 numbers mean for a filing decision
Four read-throughs from the trend, jurisdiction and citation data above.
The growth phase has already happened
A peak of 27 families in 2020 followed by a decline to 18 by 2022 indicates the core process space was claimed early in this window. New entrants filing broad injection-molding or compression-molding claims on PEEK now are more likely to face rejection on prior art from 2018-2021 than to find open ground.
China is the busiest single office, not a distant third
With 106 filings at the Chinese office against 75 at the EPO and 68 in the US, freedom-to-operate work that only screens US and European families will miss a large share of the active claim set. WIPO PCT filings (41) suggest a meaningful share of applicants are still pursuing multi-jurisdiction protection rather than filing nationally only.
Composition claims crowd out additive-formulation claims
C08L polymer-composition records outnumber C08K additive records by more than two to one. That imbalance suggests specific additive packages and filler combinations for PEEK molding compounds are comparatively less contested than the base polymer composition claims themselves.
No single assignee is currently accelerating
Every assignee named in the recent-momentum tracking, including the largest specialty-polymer holders, shows zero filings in the latest year, with one leader down -100% YoY. That is consistent with a maturing filing cycle rather than a market where one company is pulling away from the field right now.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to polyetheretherketone molding process, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claims
Filing activity concentrates among specialty-polymer producers and a smaller set of process-equipment and end-user filers, with co-assignment patterns pointing to a handful of recurring collaborations.
Solvay-affiliated entities anchor the densest collaboration
The strongest co-assignee pairing in the dataset links Solvay Specialty Polymers USA with Cytec Industries at 4 joint filings, reflecting a materials-supplier relationship that predates the more recent slowdown in filing activity from either party.
Entegris pairs consistently with the same named inventors
Entegris appears in two of the top co-assignee pairings, each at 3 joint filings with individual named inventors, suggesting a stable internal filing team rather than a broad multi-partner strategy for PEEK process work.
A long tail sits beneath a moderately concentrated top
With 358 families spread across the ranking and momentum flat across every tracked leader, the field reads as moderately concentrated at the top with a long tail of lower-volume filers rather than a single dominant assignee controlling the space.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Victrex Manufacturing Limited | 0 | — |
| Diffusion Technologies, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Entegris, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Changzhou Ruilu Plastics Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Solvay Advanced Polymers, L.L.C. | 0 | — |
| LG Chem, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| SABIC Innovative Plastics IP B.V. | 0 | — |
Where to take this
Two directions depend on whether the immediate question is legal risk or open filing space.
Run a freedom-to-operate check against the CN and EPO clusters
With 106 Chinese and 75 EPO filings against 68 US filings, a US-only clearance search will understate exposure. Screening the Chinese-office cluster in particular is worth the extra step given its share of total volume.
Explore assignees in EurekaTest draft claims against the 2018-2021 prior art cluster
The 2020 peak means the densest prior art for injection and compression molding process claims sits in that window. Drafting around gate design, stretching ratios or melt pressure ranges should be checked against that cluster before filing.
Search prior art in EurekaCommon questions on PEEK molding process patents
This dataset identifies 358 patent families filed between 2017 and mid-2026 that combine PEEK polymer chemistry with molding-specific process claims such as injection molding, compression molding and melt processing. The count is based on patent families rather than raw published documents, which is the fairer unit because it neutralises repeat filings of the same invention across jurisdictions. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent year in this range is understated and should not be read as a drop in real activity.
No, the trend has flattened. Filing rose from 17 families in 2017 to a peak of 27 in 2020, then eased back to 18 by 2022, a pattern consistent with a filing cycle that has already run its course rather than one still accelerating. Every major assignee tracked for recent momentum shows zero filings in the latest year, reinforcing that this is a maturing rather than an expanding filing area.
China leads with 106 filings, ahead of the European Patent Office at 75 and the United States at 68, with WIPO PCT applications adding 41 and the UK and Japan each in the low teens. A freedom-to-operate or clearance search limited to US and European records alone would miss a substantial share of active claims, given China's share of total filing volume in this dataset.
US20180236702A1, filed by TOSKABANO'K CO., LTD and published in 2018, claims an injection molding method for PEEK parts specifying a filling peak pressure between 40 MPa and 150 MPa, injection through a multipoint gate and optional subrunner connected by a film gate, and a subsequent in-mold stretching step that increases part length by 1.2 to 5 fold while adjusting diameter to between 0.2 mm and 1.0 mm. Anyone working on stretched or drawn PEEK components with similar gate geometry and pressure ranges should review this claim set closely before finalising a process design.
The IPC composition data shows C08L polymer-composition claims (211 records) and B29C shaping claims (201) far outweigh C08K additive claims (96) and index classes B29K (57) and B29L (25), suggesting additive formulation, filler dispersion and specific end-product categories carry comparatively thinner coverage than the base composition and shaping claims. Sub-areas like in-mold stretching ratio control, multipoint gate and film-gate runner design, and high-temperature melt runner nozzle systems are worth checking specifically, since they sit adjacent to dense claim clusters without being as heavily claimed themselves.
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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.