Quaternary Ammonium Compounds Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 43.5% of all 733 records sit with just five assignees, and the top ten account for 61.0% — this field is concentrated, not fragmented.
- Filing has gone flat since 2021 the peak year at 45 filings, with 2022's 23 marking a clear midpoint decline rather than continued growth.
- 80.4% of records touch C11D detergents and cleaning compositions dominate the technology mix, while textile treatment and cosmetics use sit far behind at roughly 10-11% each.
Filing growth compares 2021 (45 records) with 2024 (15) — 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 733 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Quaternary ammonium compounds sit at the intersection of surfactant chemistry, biocidal formulation and fabric care, which is why this dataset pulls from C07C211 quaternization chemistry, C11D1 detergent formulation and A01N33 biocidal application in a single search. The 733 records in scope span 2015 through the current filing year, with the most recent year necessarily undercounted because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
Reading this landscape means separating chemistry claims (quaternization routes, amine feedstocks) from application claims (fabric softening, biocidal efficacy, biodegradability). The two claim types are governed by different IPC classes and, as the composition data below shows, they are claimed at very different rates.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 733 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings ran at 35 in 2017, climbed to a peak of 45 in 2021, then declined to 23 by the 2022 midpoint. The downward trend since the peak, combined with the expected undercount in the final year or two, suggests this is a maturing rather than an expanding filing area.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
C11D (detergents and cleaning compositions) touches 80.4% of the 733 records, making it the dominant application context by a wide margin. A01N biocides follow at 25.5%, with A61K medicinal preparations, C07C core chemistry, A61Q cosmetics, A01P pesticide activity, D06M textile treatment and C09K materials applications each in the 9-14% range. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares sum to well over 100% of the record total — that overlap itself is informative, showing how often quat chemistry claims are bundled with a specific end-use application.
Shares are the percentage of the 733 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Quaternary Ammonium Compounds with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about quaternary ammonium compounds and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey patents and the citation backbone
Use of a quaternary ammonium compound as a hydrotrope
US20130116163A1 claims an alkyl di(lower alkyl)mono(polyoxyethylene) quaternary ammonium compound used as a hydrotrope in aqueous nonionic surfactant solutions, with the surfactant preferably a C8-C18-alcohol alkoxylate. The formula specifies R as C6-C22 alkyl and R1/R2 as independently C1-C4 alkyl, with a defined ethyleneoxy chain length, filed by Nouryon Chemicals International B.V.Filed 2013-05-09 — predates this dataset's 2015 window start but sits in the citation lineage of records inside it.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4260529A | Detergent composition consisting essentially of biodegradable nonionic surfactant and cationic surfactant con… | 1,099 |
| 2 | US4239660A | Detergent composition comprising a hydrolyzable cationic surfactant and specific alkalinity source | 1,047 |
| 3 | WO1998035006A1 | Liquid cleaning composition | 809 |
| 4 | US4239659A | Detergent compositions containing nonionic and cationic surfactants, the cationic surfactant having a long al… | 674 |
| 5 | US4259217A | Laundry detergent compositions having enhanced greasy and oily soil removal performance | 538 |
| 6 | WO2010066632A1 | Laundry article having cleaning and conditioning properties | 216 |
| 7 | WO2010066631A1 | Laundry article having cleaning and conditioning properties | 211 |
| 8 | US20050137114A1 | Novel foamer composition and methods for making and using same | 194 |
| 9 | US4846992A | Built thickened stable non-aqueous cleaning composition and method of use, and package therefor | 154 |
| 10 | US5543067A | Waterless self-emulsiviable biodegradable chemical softening composition useful in fibrous cellulosic materia… | 141 |
Citation counts favour older documents simply because they have had more time to be cited within this corpus — treat them as a signal of influence on the field's claim structure, not as a measure 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 concentration and composition data mean
The numbers point to a field where a small group of formulators has occupied the core detergent and biocidal claim space, while the underlying quaternization chemistry itself is less densely claimed.
Five assignees hold nearly half the field
The leader alone accounts for 125 records, and the gap to fifth place (31) is steep. That drop-off matters for freedom-to-operate work: the top of this ranking is where formulation claims are thickest, and it is also where continuation filings are most likely to keep extending coverage.
Filing has cooled since 2021
Volume rose from 35 in 2017 to a peak of 45 in 2021, then fell to 23 by 2022. Combined with near-zero recent-year activity from several of the largest historical filers, this looks like a field where the dominant players have already staked their core claims rather than one still being actively built out.
Detergent application dominates the claim mix
Four out of five records touch detergent and cleaning composition classifications, while core acyclic/carbocyclic chemistry (C07C) appears in just 11.9%. That imbalance suggests more formulation-layer claims than feedstock or synthesis-route claims across this corpus.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to quaternary ammonium compounds, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where they cluster
The ranked leaders in this dataset are dominated by household and personal-care formulators rather than specialty chemical producers, which shapes where the densest claim thickets sit.
A single formulator holds the largest single share
The top-ranked assignee's 125 records are well ahead of the field, and its filings cluster tightly with named co-inventors, pointing to a small internal team driving a large share of the portfolio.
A long tail sits below a concentrated top ten
Once past the top ten (447 of 733 records), the ranked list of 100 companies thins quickly, with many single or low-count filers. That tail is where opportunistic or defensive filings are more likely, rather than sustained R&D programmes.
Recent-year activity has nearly stopped among top filers
Several of the largest historical assignees show zero filings in the most recent year, and one tracked assignee shows a -100% year-on-year change. This is consistent with the broader flat-to-declining trend rather than an anomaly specific to any one company.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| The Clorox Company | 1 | — |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | 0 | — |
| Rhodia Operations SAS | 0 | — |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | 0 | — |
| UNITED LAB INT LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Stepan Company | 0 | — |
| Unilever IP Holdings B.V. | 0 | -100% |
| Unilever PLC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific follow-up questions rather than a single conclusion — the value is in narrowing from field-level trends to claim-level detail.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top five
With 43.5% of records held by five assignees, any new detergent or fabric-softener formulation should be screened against that concentrated set before broader searching.
Run a claim-level search in EurekaTrack the flat filing trend by sub-application
The field-wide decline since 2021 may not be even across A01N biocidal, A61Q cosmetics and D06M textile applications — breaking the trend out by IPC subclass can reveal where activity is still live.
Explore trend by IPC in EurekaWatch the co-assignee clusters
The strongest co-assignee pairs run as high as 24 shared filings, indicating specific internal teams worth tracking for continuation activity.
Map assignee networks in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
The dataset's leading assignee holds 125 of the 733 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 31. The top five assignees combined account for 43.5% of all records, and the top ten account for 61.0%, so filing activity is concentrated among a small group of household-products and specialty-chemical companies rather than spread evenly across the field. Anyone doing freedom-to-operate work in this space should start with that concentrated top tier before widening the search.
No, filing volume peaked at 45 in 2021 and had fallen to 23 by 2022, the dataset's midpoint year, indicating a flat-to-declining trend rather than continued growth. Several of the largest historical filers show zero or near-zero filings in the most recent tracked year. Note that the very latest year or two in any patent dataset is typically undercounted because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the true 2025-2026 picture will fill in somewhat as more records publish.
Detergent and cleaning-composition claims under IPC class C11D dominate, appearing in 80.4% of the 733 records in scope. Biocide and agrochemical applications (A01N) are a distant second at 25.5%, with medicinal preparations, core carbocyclic chemistry, cosmetics use, pesticide activity, textile treatment and materials applications each appearing in roughly 9-14% of records. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages add up to well over 100%, reflecting how often a quat chemistry claim is bundled with a specific end-use application.
Relative to the heavily claimed detergent cluster, sub-areas like biodegradable feedstock routes, textile-specific softener chemistry, and materials-grade surfactant applications under C09K show comparatively thinner coverage. These are not necessarily easy to file in — they may be thin because the chemistry is harder to differentiate — but they carry less dense prior art than the core C11D detergent space. A prospective filer should verify current openness with a targeted claim search rather than relying on subclass-level counts alone.
US20130116163A1, assigned to Nouryon Chemicals International B.V., claims the use of a specific alkyl di(lower alkyl)mono(polyoxyethylene) quaternary ammonium compound as a hydrotrope in aqueous nonionic surfactant solutions, with defined alkyl chain lengths and ethyleneoxy unit counts. It covers hydrotrope use in hard-surface cleaning contexts such as vehicle cleaning and machine dishwashing rather than fabric softening or biocidal use. Because its claims are tied to a specific compound formula and use context, it constrains hydrotrope formulations built on that exact structural family rather than quaternary ammonium chemistry broadly.
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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.