PVB Films & Primers Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filings have plateaued, not grown. Annual output peaked at 39 families in 2022 and has since eased back toward 2017 levels — this is a mature, saturated filing pattern, not an emerging one.
- Adhesion control is the most heavily fought claim. The single most-cited record, US5728472A, covers adhesion control between PVB sheet and glass and has drawn 409 citations — more than any other document in the corpus.
- China now files more than any other jurisdiction. With 317 records, China's receiving office leads the United States (238), Europe (255) and Japan (230), reshaping where freedom-to-operate work needs to start.
Filing growth compares 2021 (37 records) with 2024 (26) — 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 1,720 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
A mature interlayer technology with a narrowing set of open questions
Polyvinyl butyral interlayers and their adhesion primers sit at the intersection of glass lamination and polymer chemistry, and the patent record reflects that split cleanly: B32B layered-product claims dominate at 1,480 records, with C03C glass compositions a distant second at 792 and the core C08L polymer-composition class at 520. That ordering says the commercially contested ground is less about inventing new PVB chemistry and more about how the film is structured, laminated and bonded once it exists. Plasticizer loading, adhesion promoters and multi-layer film architectures account for most of the recent activity layered on top of a chemistry base that has been largely settled since the 1990s.
Filing activity rose gradually through the late 2010s, peaked in 2022, and has since declined — a pattern consistent with a technology where the foundational adhesion and plasticizer patents (some now over two decades old and still the most-cited records in the set) have already been worked around or licensed. Recent filings cluster on refinements: molecular-weight control, moisture-durability testing protocols, and vehicle-glazing-specific film formats rather than wholesale new interlayer chemistries.
Filing trend and technology composition
1,720 patent families published between 2015 and mid-2026 make up this dataset, spanning glass lamination, polymer processing and vehicle-glazing filings tied to PVB interlayers and primers.
A plateaued filing curve
Annual filings climbed from 30 in 2017 to a peak of 39 in 2022, then eased back to 18 in the most recent (partial) year. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the final year or two always understates true activity — but the shape from 2017 to 2022 already shows growth flattening rather than accelerating.
Lamination and glass classes dominate over core polymer chemistry
B32B (layered products) and C03C (glass compositions) together outweigh C08L (the core PVB polymer class) by a wide margin, indicating that most recent inventive effort goes into how the film is built into a laminate rather than into the base resin itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,720 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) Films and Primers with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about polyvinyl butyral (pvb) films and primers and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe documents every freedom-to-operate review starts with
Interlayer film and laminated glass comprising the same
Describes a PVB interlayer with resin molecular weight (GPC Mw) tuned to roughly 175,000–210,000 Dalton and 30–50 pph plasticizer loading, engineered so pummel adhesion is higher at the outer area of the laminate than the middle after 28 days at 50°C and 95% RH — targeting durability without delamination at the edges.Filed by Chang Chun Petrochemical Co., Ltd., published 2021-12-14.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5728472A | Control of adhesion of polyvinyl butyral sheet to glass | 409 |
| 2 | JP1996259279A | Laminated glass and its production | 347 |
| 3 | US5536347A | No autoclave process for forming a safety glass laminate | 252 |
| 4 | US3841890A | Plasticizer systems for polyvinyl butyral interlayers | 248 |
| 5 | US5091258A | Laminate for a safety glazing | 240 |
| 6 | US4144217A | Plasticizer blends for polyvinyl butyral interlayers | 228 |
| 7 | US6132882A | Damped glass and plastic laminates | 218 |
| 8 | US5455103A | Rough-surfaced interlayer | 161 |
| 9 | US6093471A | Polyvinyl butyral sheet | 158 |
| 10 | US5796055A | Sound absorbing article and method of making same | 153 |
Citation counts favour older, foundational filings within this searched corpus — treat them as a measure of influence on later filers, not as a signal of current commercial relevance.
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Four figures from this dataset matter more than the headline count when deciding where to file next.
The most-blocking prior art is about adhesion, not chemistry
The top-cited record in the set controls adhesion between PVB sheet and glass rather than claiming a new resin. Newer filings that touch adhesion promoters or pummel-value control sit downstream of this and several other 1990s-era foundational patents.
Growth has already flattened
Annual filings rose from 30 in 2017 to a 2022 peak of 39, then declined toward 18 in the latest partial year. That trajectory reads as a technology consolidating around known solutions rather than opening new ground.
China has overtaken the traditional filing centres
China's 317 records outpace Europe (255), the United States (238) and Japan (230). Any clearance search that starts and ends in US/EP/JP prior art is now missing the largest single filing office in the set.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated in glass-and-resin partnerships
Only ten co-assignee pairs appear across the corpus, and the strongest links pair a glass maker with a resin or film specialist — consistent with joint development between laminators and material suppliers rather than broad industry consortia.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to polyvinyl butyral (pvb) films and primers, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | Saint-Gobain Glass France | 5 |
| Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. | Teijin Limited | 5 |
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | Saint-Gobain Vitrage | 4 |
| Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. | ADEKA ARGUS KAGAKU | 4 |
| Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. | Tokuyama Sekisui Co., Ltd. | 3 |
| Monsanto Company (USA) | Solutia Inc. | 2 |
| Monsanto Company (USA) | Monsanto Company | 2 |
| Monsanto Company (USA) | Monsanto Company | 2 |
Co-assignment activity is thin and pairs glass producers directly with resin or film specialists, rather than spreading across many partners — a sign that PVB development partnerships stay narrow and vertically integrated.
Who holds the ground, and who has gone quiet
Recent-year momentum diverges sharply from historical filing volume: several long-established assignees show zero filings in the latest year, while at least one specialist chemical firm still shows active output.
Solutia is still filing
Solutia shows one filing in the latest recorded year, making it one of the few named assignees with any recent-year activity in this dataset — a signal worth tracking even though the volume is small.
Legacy glass and resin majors show no recent output
Saint-Gobain Glass France, Sekisui Chemical, PPG Industries, DuPont and Monsanto all show zero filings in the latest year despite deep historical portfolios — consistent with a mature technology where large incumbents are maintaining rather than expanding claim positions.
Saint-Gobain's glass and resin arms co-file most closely
The strongest co-assignee link in the dataset pairs Saint-Gobain Glass France with its French glass affiliate at five shared families, with a similar-strength pairing between Sekisui Chemical and Teijin — both vertically integrated glass-plus-resin relationships.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Solutia Inc. | 1 | — |
| Monsanto Company (USA) | 0 | — |
| E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (USA) | 0 | — |
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | 0 | — |
| Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| PPG Industries, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Libbey-Owens-Ford Company | 0 | — |
| Hoechst AG (Germany) | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The dataset points to specific follow-up work rather than a single conclusion — the questions below are the ones worth running down before committing R&D or filing budget.
Map freedom-to-operate against China filings specifically
With China now the largest single receiving office in this set, a clearance search anchored only in US, EP and JP prior art will miss the largest active filing population.
Explore China filing detailTest claim language against the adhesion-control foundational patents
Any new adhesion-promoter or pummel-value claim should be checked against the highest-cited records in this corpus before drafting, since they define the boundaries later filers have worked around.
Review cited prior artWatch for renewed activity from quiet incumbents
Several major historical assignees show zero filings in the latest year; a return to filing from any of them would signal a shift in competitive posture worth tracking early.
Track assignee momentumCommon questions about PVB film and primer patents
The most-cited document in this corpus, US5728472A, covers control of adhesion between PVB sheet and glass and has drawn 409 citations, making it the single most influential filing in the set. Other foundational records include JP1996259279A on laminated glass production and US3841890A on plasticizer systems for PVB interlayers. These older patents still shape how newer adhesion and plasticizer claims are drafted, even where they have since expired or been licensed around.
Filing activity peaked at 39 families in 2022 after rising from 30 in 2017, then declined toward 18 in the latest partial year, which points to a technology that has flattened rather than one still expanding. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent year understates true activity, but the multi-year trend before that still shows a plateau. New filings now concentrate on refinements — molecular weight control, durability testing, plasticizer ratios — rather than new base chemistry.
Recent-year momentum diverges from historical volume: several long-standing assignees, including Saint-Gobain Glass France, Sekisui Chemical, PPG Industries, DuPont and Monsanto, show zero filings in the latest year. Solutia is one of the few named assignees still showing filing activity in the latest year, albeit at low volume. This pattern suggests large incumbents are holding existing positions rather than pushing new claims, while smaller or more specialised filers remain active.
China's receiving office leads this dataset with 317 records, ahead of Europe at 255, the United States at 238 and Japan at 230. A filing or clearance strategy built only around the traditional US/EP/JP triad will now miss the single largest active jurisdiction in this technology. Any competitive or freedom-to-operate review should treat Chinese filings as a primary rather than secondary source.
US11198770B2, held by Chang Chun Petrochemical, claims a PVB interlayer with resin molecular weight tuned to roughly 175,000 to 210,000 Dalton and 30 to 50 parts per hundred of plasticizer, engineered so pummel adhesion is higher at the outer area of a laminate than the middle after a defined humidity-aging test. It does not block PVB interlayers generally, only designs that fall inside that specific molecular-weight and plasticizer window combined with that differential-adhesion outcome. Designs using different molecular-weight ranges, different plasticizer loadings, or that do not target an outer-versus-middle adhesion gradient would sit outside its claims, though a full claim-by-claim comparison is needed before relying on that distinction.
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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.
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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.