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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/rare-earths-and-magnet-materials-patent-landscape-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-08-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Rare Earths & Magnet MaterialsRare Earths and Magnet Materials Patents: Who Leads and Where the Claims Sit
- 21.5% of all 6,898 records sit with the top five assignees, but the tenth-ranked filer still holds 80 records — concentration at the top, not a monopoly.
- Filings peaked in 2021 at 301 and fell to 143 by 2024, a -52% swing over three years; 2025-26 figures are still filling in as publication lags filing.
- H01F magnet classes cover 38.7% of records while separation processes (B01D) sit at just 9.3% — the extraction-to-magnet pipeline is claimed unevenly.
6,898
Published Records
21%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-52%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (301 records) with 2024 (143) — 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 6,898 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
This dataset spans 6,898 published patent records filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine rare earth element, rare earth magnet or rare earth terminology with a processing or metallurgy term — separation, magnet alloy, oxide concentrate, solvent extraction, ore grade or mineral concentrate. That search structure pulls in both the mining/refining side of the rare earth supply chain and the downstream magnet-manufacturing side, which is why the technology composition splits across extraction classes and magnet classes rather than clustering in one place.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months in most jurisdictions, so any apparent drop in the most recent one or two years understates real filing activity rather than reflecting a genuine slowdown. The figures below use 2024 as the last complete year for trend statements.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 6,898-record set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how records split across IPC subclasses covering extraction, alloying, powder processing and finished magnets.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose from 144 in 2017 to a peak of 301 in 2021, then declined to 143 by 2024 — a -52% move over that span. 2025 and 2026 counts are partial due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline.
IPC subclass distribution
H01F (magnets, inductors & transformers) touches 38.7% of records and C22B (metal extraction & refining) touches 32.1%, confirming the corpus spans both magnet fabrication and upstream ore processing. Because records can carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the 6,898 records in scope.
Shares are the percentage of the 6,898 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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A representative claim and the most-cited prior art
Representative Filing
Method of manufacturing a rare earth magnet alloy powder, a rare earth magnet made therefrom and a powder making device
FUJIAN GOLDEN DRAGON RARE-EARTH CO., LTD.
The present invention discloses a method of manufacturing, powder making device for rare earth magnet alloy powder, and a rare earth magnet. The method comprises a process of fine grinding at least one kind of rare earth magnet alloy or at least one kind of rare earth magnet alloy coarse powder in inert jet stream with an oxygen content below 1000 ppm to obtain powder that has a grain size smaller than 50 μm. Low oxygen content ultra-fine powder having a grain size smaller than 1 μm is not separated from the pulverizer, and the oxygen content of the atmosphere is reduced to below 1000 ppm in the pulverizer when crushing the powder.Filed by Fujian Golden Dragon Rare-Earth Co., Ltd., published 2018-10-04.
Most-cited records in this corpus
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20080249608A1 | Bioabsorbable Polymer, Bioabsorbable Composite Stents | 1,179 |
| 2 | US20160045841A1 | New and improved system for processing various chemicals and materials | 860 |
| 3 | US20060083694A1 | Multi-component particles comprising inorganic nanoparticles distributed in an organic matrix and processes f… | 452 |
| 4 | WO2014153570A2 | New and improved system for processing various chemicals and materials | 219 |
| 5 | US20130084474A1 | Electrochemical hydrogen-catalyst power system | 218 |
| 6 | US20170341942A1 | Methods and systems for large scale carbon dioxide utilization from lake KIVU via a co2 industrial utilizatio… | 208 |
| 7 | US20020045697A1 | Rubber composition | 173 |
| 8 | US4802931A | High energy product rare earth-iron magnet alloys | 144 |
| 9 | WO2011116236A2 | Electrochemical hydrogen-catalyst power system | 143 |
| 10 | JP1987074048A | Permanent magnet material and its production | 138 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside this searched corpus — treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not as a ranking of current importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns recur across the assignee ranking, the trend line and the class distribution — each has a direct implication for where to file next.
Concentration
21.5%
of 6,898 records held by top 5
The top of the field is dense, the middle is open
The leading assignee holds 444 records and the fifth-ranked holds 171, but the tenth-ranked still holds 80 — a steep drop from leader to fifth place, then a long, shallower tail. That shape means the very top classes are heavily occupied, but mid-tier positions remain reachable for a well-targeted filing.
Based on the 100-company ranked list
Momentum
-52%
filings 2021 to 2024
Peak filing activity has passed, for now
Annual filings peaked at 301 in 2021 and fell to 143 by 2024. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025-26 figures are not yet reliable evidence of a continued decline, but the 2021-2024 window is a real, complete-year comparison.
2021 = 301 → 2024 = 143
Technology split
38.7% vs 9.3%
H01F vs B01D share of records
Magnets are claimed far more densely than separation
H01F (magnets, inductors & transformers) appears in 38.7% of the 6,898 records while B01D (separation processes) appears in only 9.3%. The imbalance suggests the finished-magnet side of the value chain is where most claim activity has concentrated, leaving upstream separation and extraction comparatively less crowded.
Shares of all records in scope; a record may carry several IPC codes
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Co-filing patterns
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | Japan Atomic Energy Agency | 34 |
| Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | Nissin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. | 30 |
| Seiko Epson Corporation | Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. | 30 |
| Seiko Epson Corporation | Kobe Steel, Ltd. | 29 |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. | Kyushu University | 24 |
| Orbite Technologies Inc. | AEM Technologies Ltd. | 9 |
| Sumitomo Special Metals Co., Ltd. | Toda Kogyo Corporation | 8 |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. | Tohoku University | 8 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in this corpus, and the strongest pairs are single-company research-institute or affiliate links rather than cross-industry alliances — collaborative filing is the exception here, not the norm.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Who's Filing
Assignee landscape and where activity has slowed
The ranked list covers 100 companies by record count. Filing is concentrated at the top but not to the point of exclusion — mid-ranked assignees still hold meaningful volume, and several leading assignees show no filings in the most recent year, which is expected given publication lag rather than necessarily a sign of withdrawal.
Leader
444
records
A single assignee holds the largest share
The top-ranked assignee's 444 records are more than double the fifth-placed filer's 171, marking a clear step down rather than a gradual slope at the very top of the ranking.
Share of the 6,898-record corpus
Long tail
80
records at 10th place
The tail is long and still substantial
Even the tenth-ranked assignee holds 80 records, indicating that filing activity is spread across a wide set of established players rather than sitting with a handful of dominant firms.
Out of 100 ranked assignees
Co-filing
10 pairs
co-assignee relationships
Collaboration is rare and mostly intra-group
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest links are between a company and its own research institute or affiliate rather than between unrelated firms — this is a field of independent filers more than joint ventures.
Strongest pair recorded 34 shared filings
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Sumitomo Special Metals Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Proterial, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Seiko Epson Corporation | 0 | — |
| TOKIN Corporation | 0 | — |
| Orbite Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| TDK Corporation | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Turning this landscape into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision
The tables and charts above show where the field stands; the next step is usually a narrower question — does a specific claim block a specific design, and where is there room to file cleanly.
Run a freedom-to-operate check on a specific process step
Class-level density (H01F, C22B, C22C) tells you where claim traffic is heavy, but it does not tell you whether a particular grinding, alloying or extraction step is actually blocked. That needs a claim-by-claim comparison against the records active in your target class.
Check freedom to operate in EurekaTrack the assignees still filing after the peak year
Several leading assignees show zero filings in the most recent year in this dataset, which given publication lag may simply mean their filings have not published yet. Monitoring who resumes filing first is a useful early signal of where R&D investment is heading.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about rare earth and magnet materials patents
The ranked assignee list in this dataset covers 100 companies, with the leading assignee holding 444 records out of 6,898 in scope. The top five combined account for 21.5% of all records, and the top ten account for 28.3% — a clear lead at the very top followed by a long tail of companies each holding dozens of records. This is a concentrated field at the leader position but far from a single-company monopoly.
Filings rose from 144 in 2017 to a peak of 301 in 2021, then fell to 143 by 2024, a -52% change over that three-year window. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look lower still, but publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so those most recent years understate real activity and should not be read as proof of a continued decline. The honest comparison is 2021 to 2024, and that shows a real drop from the peak.
H01F, covering magnets, inductors and transformers, appears in 38.7% of the 6,898 records in scope, making it the single largest IPC subclass. C22B (metal extraction and refining) follows at 32.1% and C22C (alloys) at 25.0%, showing the corpus spans both the upstream ore-processing side and the downstream magnet-manufacturing side. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages add up to more than 100% of records rather than summing to a fixed total.
Separation processes (B01D) appear in only 9.3% of records and catalysis-related processes (B01J) in 7.0%, both well below the 38.7% share held by finished-magnet classes. That gap suggests upstream separation chemistry and catalytic recovery steps are comparatively under-claimed relative to magnet fabrication itself. A first filing targeting solvent extraction chemistry for mixed rare earth streams or oxide concentrate purity control would be entering a less crowded part of the claim space.
Co-filing is rare in this dataset: only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across all 6,898 records. The strongest pairs are links between a company and its own research institute or a closely affiliated subsidiary, not partnerships between unrelated firms. Most filing activity in this field is conducted by single assignees acting alone rather than through joint ventures or cross-licensing arrangements.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Rare Earths & Magnet Materials Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.