Polymers & Resins Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- 8.0% of the field. The five leading assignees together account for 12,440 of 155,656 records — a concentrated top but a long tail below it.
- Filings fell 34% from 2021 to 2024. 419 records in 2021 dropped to 277 in 2024, the last year with a complete publication window.
- Polymer compositions lead the class table. C08L accounts for 2.7% of all records, ahead of layered products (B32B) and additive chemistry (C08K).
Filing growth compares 2021 (419 records) with 2024 (277) — 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 155,656 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this dataset covers
This landscape draws on 155,656 published records filed or published between 2015 and 2026 that combine polymer, synthetic resin or resin-polymer terminology with claims touching material phase, surface layer, particle morphology, mechanical strength, polymer composition or resin system. The scope spans core polymer chemistry (C08L, C08F, C08G), processing and shaping (B29C, C08J), additive formulation (C08K), and downstream applications in laminates and coatings (B32B, C09D).
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent one to two years in any trend understate real filing activity. Treat 2024 as the last complete year for growth comparisons and read 2025-2026 figures as still filling in.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 155,656 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose from 509 in 2017 to a peak of 555 in 2020, then eased to 419 in 2021 and 277 in 2024 — a 34% decline over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag and should not be read as a further drop.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
C08L (polymer compositions) leads at 2.7% of all records, followed by B32B (layered products, 2.1%), C08K (additives, 2.1%), B29C (shaping, 1.8%) and C08J (processing, 1.7%). Records can carry multiple classes, so these shares sum to more than 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 155,656 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Polymers & Resins Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about polymers & resins patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative claim and the most-cited prior art
US12269909B2 — Polymer composition and a method of preparing a polymer resin
There is provided a polymer composition comprising at least one (meth)acrylate monomer or oligomer, a phase separating agent, a photoinitiator and a photosensitizer. There is also provided a method of preparing a polymer resin comprising the step of polymerizing a solution of at least one (meth)acrylate polymer or oligomer, a photoinitiator, a photosensitizer and a phase separating agent in the presence of UV light to form the polymer resin. There is also provided a polymer resin and uses of the polymer composition.Filed by Agency for Science, published 2025-04-08 — a recent addition to the phase-separating photopolymer resin space.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US3640317A | Clip for closing fragile stuffed casings | 1,282 |
| 2 | US6372608B1 | Exfoliating method, transferring method of thin film device, and thin film device, thin film integrated circu… | 1,156 |
| 3 | US6195140B1 | Liquid crystal display in which at least one pixel includes both a transmissive region and a reflective region | 740 |
| 4 | US4970145A | Immobilized enzyme electrodes | 735 |
| 5 | US20100210745A1 | Molecular Healing of Polymeric Materials, Coatings, Plastics, Elastomers, Composites, Laminates, Adhesives, a… | 718 |
| 6 | US3717462A | Heat treatment of an electrophotographic photosensitive member | 570 |
| 7 | US6632527B1 | Composite proppant, composite filtration media and methods for making and using same | 490 |
| 8 | US6153337A | Separators for electrochemical cells | 479 |
| 9 | US5484881A | Melt-stable amorphous lactide polymer film and process for manufacturing thereof | 447 |
| 10 | US6582819B2 | Low density composite proppant, filtration media, gravel packing media, and sports field media, and methods f… | 438 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate references — read them as a signal of influence within this corpus, not as evidence of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading the concentration, class and citation figures together points to where claim space is occupied and where it is not.
Leadership is real but not dominant
The top five assignees combined hold 12,440 records, 8.0% of all 155,656 in scope, rising to 12.3% for the top ten. That leaves close to 90% of the field spread across a long tail of filers, which is unusual for a chemistry this mature and suggests the leaders have not locked down broad composition claims.
Volume has cooled since the 2020 peak
Annual filings peaked at 555 in 2020, then fell from 419 in 2021 to 277 in 2024 — a 34% decline over three complete years. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025-2026 counts are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming a further slide.
Composition claims outweigh processing claims
C08L (polymer compositions) leads the class table at 2.7% of records, ahead of B32B laminates and C08K additive claims at 2.1% each. B29C shaping and C08J processing sit lower, at 1.8% and 1.7%, indicating composition-level claims are more contested than process-level ones.
Influence is concentrated in older filings
The most-cited record in this corpus, a 1970s-era clip patent, draws 1,282 citations, well ahead of anything filed in the last decade. That gap is a corpus-age effect, not proof that older mechanical art still governs the field — newer photopolymer and layered-product filings simply have not had time to accumulate citations.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to polymers & resins patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where momentum has slowed
The ranked leaders span materials majors, electronics manufacturers and display makers, but recent-year filing counts across several named assignees have dropped toward zero as this dataset's most recent, still-incomplete years are reached.
A single leader well ahead of fifth place
The top-ranked assignee holds 4,686 records against 1,673 for fifth place and 1,261 for tenth — a steep drop-off after the leader that flattens quickly into a broad group of mid-volume filers.
Latest-year counts read low across the board
Several assignees tracked for recent momentum show sharp year-on-year drops or zero filings in the latest year — expected given publication lag, but worth confirming against a filer's non-patent activity before reading it as a pullback.
Co-assignee activity is thin but concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset. The strongest pair co-files 13 times, well ahead of the next strongest pairs at 7 and 6 — collaboration exists but is limited to a handful of recurring partnerships rather than a broad network.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Canon Inc. | 2 | -50% |
| Yoshino Kogyosho Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| LG Chem, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | 0 | — |
| The Dow Chemical Company | 0 | — |
| 3M Innovative Properties Co. | 0 | -100% |
| Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Sony Group Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The figures here describe the field as a whole. Narrowing to a specific claim, jurisdiction or competitor set is the next step.
Check freedom-to-operate against the dense classes
C08L, B32B and C08K carry the highest record shares. Any new composition or laminate filing should be checked against this claim density before drafting.
Explore in EurekaTrack the leaders' recent-year activity
Several top assignees show sharp latest-year drops that are partly a publication-lag artefact. Confirm current filing intent before assuming a competitor has stepped back.
Explore in EurekaTest the under-claimed branches
Phase-separating photopolymer systems and particle morphology control show lower filing density than the core classes. A first claim there faces a thinner prior-art field.
Explore in EurekaCommon questions about the polymers and resins patent field
The ranking covers 100 assignees, with the top-ranked company holding 4,686 records versus 1,673 for the fifth-ranked and 1,261 for the tenth-ranked filer. The top five combined hold 8.0% of all 155,656 records in scope, and the top ten hold 12.3% — a clear leader followed by a broad, fairly even group of mid-volume filers rather than a tight cartel. That leaves the majority of the field distributed across a long tail of single- and low-volume filers, so leadership at the top does not translate into broad control of the whole space.
Annual filings peaked at 555 in 2020 and fell from 419 in 2021 to 277 in 2024, a 34% decline over that three-year span, which is the last period with a complete publication record. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still low, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Anyone using this trend to justify a filing decision should treat 2024 as the most recent reliable data point and expect the true 2025-2026 numbers to rise as records continue to publish.
Polymer compositions (IPC class C08L) lead at 2.7% of all 155,656 records, followed by layered products and laminates (B32B) and polymer additives (C08K), each at 2.1%. Shaping of plastics (B29C) and polymer processing (C08J) sit slightly lower, at 1.8% and 1.7% respectively. Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the record total, so they should be read as relative density across classes rather than as parts of a whole.
US12269909B2, filed by Agency for Science and published in April 2025, claims a polymer composition built from a (meth)acrylate monomer or oligomer, a phase separating agent, a photoinitiator and a photosensitizer, plus a UV-driven method for polymerizing that solution into a resin. It sits in the phase-separating photopolymer sub-area, which shows lower filing density than the core C08L/B32B/C08K classes in this dataset. Anyone developing a UV-cured resin with a phase-separating agent and photosensitizer combination should review this claim's exact boundaries before finalising a formulation.
The class data shows composition and laminate claims (C08L, B32B, C08K) are the most heavily filed, while adjacent areas such as phase-separating photopolymer systems, enzyme-mediated self-healing coatings, and particle morphology control in additive blends carry comparatively lower density in this dataset. Co-assignee collaboration is also thin, with only 10 pairs recorded and the strongest pair co-filing just 13 times, suggesting most innovation here happens within single organisations rather than through joint filings. A first claim in one of the lower-density branches faces a thinner prior-art field, though that should be confirmed against a full freedom-to-operate search before drafting.
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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.