Seed Priming Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- 38.4% sits with five filers. The top five assignees combined account for 347 of 903 records in scope — concentrated at the top, with a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants below tenth place.
- Microbial and biocide claims dominate the IPC mix. A01N (agrochemicals) touches 49.5% of records and C12N (microorganisms/genetic engineering) 37.9%, showing priming is increasingly filed as a biological treatment, not just a physical or osmotic process.
- Momentum is cooling among the biggest names. Filings ran 2021's 69 down to 62 by 2024, a -10% move over that span, and several leading assignees show 0 filings or steep YoY declines in the latest tracked year — read cautiously, since recent years are still filling in.
Filing growth compares 2021 (69 records) with 2024 (62) — 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 903 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the seed priming patent record actually shows
Seed priming covers a wide span of engineering choices: osmotic and hydro-priming formulations, solid matrix carriers, microbial and endophyte coatings, and post-priming storability treatments meant to preserve germination speed and seedling vigour after drying back. The 903 records in scope span 2015 through the 2026 cut-off and mix classic agrochemical process claims with newer biological-composition claims — a split visible directly in the IPC data, where A01N and C12N each cover more than a third of records.
Filing activity peaked in 2023 at 78 records and has not returned to that level since, though the most recent one to two years are understated because publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months. The assignee base is a mix of specialist seed-treatment firms, large crop-science incumbents and university-origin filers, with ownership of the most heavily cited foundational work sitting outside the current top filers.
Filing trends and technology composition
The chart below tracks published records by year against the IPC subclasses those records were tagged with. Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, the subclass shares add up to more than the record total — read them as coverage, not as a partition of the field.
A cooling curve after a 2023 peak
Filings rose from 38 in 2017 toward a peak of 78 in 2023, then eased; the 2021-to-2024 window shows a -10% move (69 to 62), and 2025–2026 figures will rise as later publications land.
Biocide and microbial classes carry the field
A01N (49.5% of records) and C12N (37.9%) are the two largest subclasses, ahead of A01C planting/sowing (36.1%) and A01H plant breeding (28.6%) — priming claims increasingly sit alongside biological and genetic-engineering subject matter rather than pure physical treatment.
Shares are the percentage of the 903 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Seed Priming Technologies with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about seed priming technologies and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited seed priming families
US9374941B2 — Sieved compost and hydrogel-based method and composition for seed priming
Provided is a method for seed priming comprising the steps of treating seed with a seed priming composition comprising sieved compost, hydrogel and water in a ratio of sieved compost:hydrogel:water of from about 5:1:4.75 to about 9:1:11 by weight in an amount sufficient to result in priming of the seed. In some embodiments, the seed is treated with from about 2 to about 39 grams of the seed priming composition per gram of seed. In preferred embodiments, the seed composition and the seed priming composition are free of soil or sand. In further preferred embodiments, the seed is blended with the seed priming composition at a temperature of about 5°C to about 25°C.Filed by Temple University – Of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education; a university-origin composition claim rather than a large-agrochemical filing.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO2016200987A1 | Streptomyces endophyte compositions and methods for improved agronomic traits in plants | 104 |
| 2 | WO2016179046A1 | Isolated complex endophyte compositions and methods for improved plant traits | 90 |
| 3 | WO2016109758A2 | Seed endophytes across cultivars and species, associated compositions, and methods of use thereof | 83 |
| 4 | US5628144A | Solid matrix priming of seeds with microorganisms and selected chemical treatment | 81 |
| 5 | US20160316760A1 | Isolated Complex Endophyte Compositions and Methods for Improved Plant Traits | 80 |
| 6 | US20180213800A1 | Penicillium endophyte compositions and methods for improved agronomic traits in plants | 73 |
| 7 | WO2011001434A1 | Introducing DNA into plant cells | 72 |
| 8 | US20140230090A1 | METHODS OF INTRODUCING dsRNA TO PLANT SEEDS FOR MODULATING GENE EXPRESSION | 70 |
| 9 | US20180020677A1 | Seed endophytes across cultivars and species, associated compositions, and methods of use thereof | 67 |
| 10 | US6385902B1 | Treated seeds | 67 |
Citation counts favour older records inside this searched corpus — treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not of current commercial importance.
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Three patterns stand out once concentration, technology mix and citation data are read together.
The top of the field is tight, the rest is long
Five assignees hold 347 of 903 records in scope (38.4%), and ten hold 477 (52.8%). Below tenth place, filing counts drop quickly toward single-digit and one-off filers, meaning most of the field is held by entities with only a handful of families each.
Biological composition claims now rival classical agrochemical claims
Microorganism and genetic-engineering subject matter (C12N) appears in more than a third of records, close behind the biocide/agrochemical class (A01N). Peptide and protein claims (C07K, 7.0%) are a smaller but present thread, pointing to endophyte and microbial-consortium formulations as an active claim area.
Foundational influence sits outside the current filing leaders
The most-cited records include microbial endophyte compositions and a 1996 solid-matrix priming patent, none of which belong to the assignees currently filing the most. That gap suggests the field's technical foundations are now widely built upon rather than owned by any single active filer.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to seed priming technologies, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| INDIGO AG INC | Indigo Ag Inc | 15 |
| Bayer CropScience AG | Bayer Intellectual Property GmbH | 4 |
| INDIGO AG INC | SATINSKY BRANDON M | 2 |
| INDIGO AG INC | HUBERT DAVID A | 2 |
| INDIGO AG INC | COLLINS SARA B | 2 |
| INDIGO AG INC | BASU SHIB SANKAR | 2 |
| Bayer CropScience AG | VAN DEN BERG JAN | 1 |
| Bayer CropScience AG | NOTTEN MARTJE J M | 1 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the data, and the strongest pairing is Indigo Ag with its own Chinese-registered affiliate — co-filing is not yet a common strategy in this field.
Who is filing, and where activity has stalled
The leader files well ahead of the field, but several previously active assignees show flat or falling recent-year counts — a sign that some early movers may be consolidating IP rather than expanding it.
A clear leader, then a steep drop-off
The top assignee holds 130 records against 34 for fifth place and 21 for tenth — a leader with roughly four times the filing volume of the fifth-ranked company, then a fast taper through the rest of the ranked list.
Some of the biggest names have gone quiet in the latest tracked year
Multiple assignees that built substantial portfolios, including Indigo Ag and Andes Ag, show zero filings in the latest year with -100% year-on-year moves. Given publication lag, this likely overstates the slowdown, but it is consistent across several names at once.
Joint ownership is the exception, not the norm
The strongest co-assignee relationship pairs Indigo Ag with its Chinese affiliate at 15 shared records; the next strongest pairings involve corporate-structure affiliates rather than independent collaborators, suggesting cross-company joint filing has not taken hold in seed priming.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| BioConsortia Inc | 6 | -71% |
| INDIGO AG INC | 0 | -100% |
| A.B. Seeds Ltd | 0 | — |
| Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt & Zaadhandel B.V. | 0 | — |
| Indigo Ag Inc | 0 | — |
| Andes Ag Inc | 0 | -100% |
| Bayer CropScience AG | 0 | — |
| Kamterter II LLC | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The dataset points to specific follow-up questions rather than a single conclusion.
Check freedom to operate in microbial-composition claims
With C12N covering 37.9% of records and the most-cited families built on endophyte and microorganism compositions, any new biological seed treatment should be checked against that cluster before formulation work goes further.
Explore in Eureka →Watch whether quiet leaders are re-filing or exiting
Several top assignees show 0 filings or -100% YoY in the latest year; because publication lags filing, it is worth revisiting this in a future data pull rather than treating it as confirmed exit from the field.
Track assignee activity in Eureka →Look at the under-claimed branches directly
Storability, peptide-based agents and organic fertiliser carriers show comparatively thin coverage next to the dominant biocide and microbial classes — a reasonable place to scope a first claim.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Common questions on seed priming patents
The leading assignee in this dataset holds 130 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked company at 34 and tenth place at 21. The top five assignees combined account for 347 of 903 records in scope (38.4%), and the top ten hold 477 (52.8%), so the field is concentrated at the top but has a long tail of companies with only a handful of filings each. The ranking covers 100 companies total, which is the full set the underlying data returns, not a curated top-50 or top-100 list.
Filing volume rose to a peak of 78 records in 2023, and the 2021-to-2024 window shows a -10% change (69 down to 62), which is a mild pull-back rather than a collapse. Counts for 2025 and 2026 look lower still, but that is expected: publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the most recent one to two years are always undercounted at the time of any given data pull. Treat any apparent recent decline with that lag in mind rather than reading it as a definitive slowdown.
Biocide and agrochemical claims (IPC class A01N) touch 49.5% of the 903 records in scope, closely followed by microorganism and genetic-engineering claims (C12N) at 37.9% and planting/sowing method claims (A01C) at 36.1%. Because a single patent record can be tagged with multiple IPC classes, these shares overlap and add to more than 100% — they describe coverage across the field, not a breakdown that sums to the whole. The pattern suggests seed priming filings increasingly combine physical treatment methods with biological or genetic composition claims rather than sitting in one lane.
US9374941B2, assigned to Temple University, claims a seed priming method and composition built from sieved compost, hydrogel and water in specific weight ratios, applied at defined dosages per gram of seed and within a stated temperature range. It is a solid-matrix, compost-and-hydrogel approach rather than a microbial or purely osmotic one, and its claims are narrowed by specific ratio ranges and process temperatures. Anyone formulating a compost- or hydrogel-based priming carrier should check those ratio and dosage limits directly, since working outside the claimed ranges is one practical way to design around it.
Relative to the dominant A01N and C12N classes, subclasses such as C05F (organic and waste-derived fertiliser carriers, 10.0% of records), C07K (peptide and protein-based agents, 7.0%) and A01G (horticultural and forestry-specific priming, 9.2%) show noticeably thinner filing density. Storability treatments applied after drying-back also appear less densely claimed than the core priming-formulation space. These are reasonable starting points for a freedom-to-operate check before committing to formulation work, though thinner filing density should be confirmed with a targeted search rather than assumed from category-level shares alone.
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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.