Shampoo Surfactant Systems Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 45.3% of all 4,019 records in scope sit with just five assignees, with a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants behind them.
- Filing fell 34% from 2021 to 2024 (175 to 116 records), the most recent span the data can treat as complete once publication lag is accounted for.
- A61Q cosmetics-use claims sit at 44.6% of records alongside C11D detergent claims at 45.2%, showing formulation and cleansing chemistry are claimed almost equally hard.
Filing growth compares 2021 (175 records) with 2024 (116) — 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 4,019 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Shampoo surfactant system patents span cleansing chemistry, mildness and irritation testing, and the viscosity and salt-curve behaviour that determines how a formulation feels and performs. The scope here pulls together 4,019 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from search terms tied to surfactant systems, sulfate-free formulation, foam volume, mildness testing and cleansing efficiency. Records carry claims across medicinal preparations, detergent chemistry and cosmetic-use classifications, which is why a single formulation often shows up under more than one IPC subclass.
The dataset is built from patent families where possible, which is the fairer unit for judging real filing activity because it strips out the inflation caused by continuations and multi-jurisdiction refiling of the same invention. Readers should treat the most recent one to two years of the trend as understated: publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising as more records publish.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 4,019-record dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how the underlying technology splits across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings peaked in 2017 at 225 records and declined to 25 by 2026, though the last two years understate true activity because of publication lag. The only span reliable enough to describe as a real trend is 2021 to 2024, where filings dropped 34% (175 to 116 records) — a genuine pullback in new filing rather than a data artefact.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
A61K (medicinal preparations) appears on 55.8% of records, C11D (detergents and cleaning compositions) on 45.2%, and A61Q (cosmetics use) on 44.6% — the three anchor classes for this field. Because a single record can carry several classes, these shares add to more than 100% of the 4,019 records in scope; smaller classes such as A01N (7.7%), C09K (6.0%) and A61P (3.3%) mark adjacent applications like biocide compatibility and therapeutic claims rather than core surfactant chemistry.
Shares are the percentage of the 4,019 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Shampoo Surfactant Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about shampoo surfactant systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this field
US20100160162A1 — Herbicide formulations containing an etheramine and alkylamine alkoxylate surfactant system
The filing describes herbicidal compositions combining a herbicide with an etheramine alkoxylate surfactant and a high-alkoxylation alkylamine alkoxylate surfactant, together with a compatibilizer such as a low-alkoxylation alkylamine alkoxylate or an alkylpolyglucoside surfactant. The stated aim is herbicidal efficacy with low eye irritation and low crop injury.Assignee and filing date are shown in the table above; note the eye-irritation testing language overlaps directly with mildness-testing claims used in personal-care shampoo filings, despite the agrochemical application.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4364837A | Shampoo compositions comprising saccharides | 1,251 |
| 2 | US6136769A | Alkoxylated cationic detergency ingredients | 1,061 |
| 3 | US20070207109A1 | Personal care compositions containing cationic synthetic copolymer and a detersive surfactant | 610 |
| 4 | US6302209B1 | Surfactant compositions and uses therefor | 324 |
| 5 | US5641480A | Hair care compositions comprising heteroatom containing alkyl aldonamide compounds | 321 |
| 6 | US5776872A | Cleansing compositions technical field | 247 |
| 7 | US5338766A | Superabsorbent polymer foam | 246 |
| 8 | US20090155383A1 | Personal Care Compositions Comprising Undecyl Sulfates | 245 |
| 9 | US5000939A | Dentifrice containing stabilized enzyme | 237 |
| 10 | US6018033A | Hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and thermoreversible saccharide gels and foams, and methods for producing same | 232 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings, since a patent needs years in circulation to accumulate citations. They are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once concentration, technology composition and citation data are read together.
The top of the field is dense, but the tail is long
Five assignees hold 45.3% of the 4,019 records in scope, and the top ten reach 59.5%. That leaves a substantial share of filings spread across the remaining ranked companies, which is where niche formulation approaches tend to surface rather than in the leaders' broad claim sets.
New filing has genuinely pulled back, not just gone quiet on paper
Filings dropped from 175 in 2021 to 116 in 2024, a real three-year decline rather than a publication-lag illusion, since both years are old enough to be treated as complete. That pullback suggests the core surfactant-system claim space is becoming more occupied, prompting fewer net-new filings even as reformulation work continues.
Formulation, detergency and cosmetic-use claims are almost evenly matched
No single IPC subclass dominates: medicinal-preparation, detergent and cosmetic-use claims each cover close to half of the 4,019 records. That even split means a new filing rarely escapes overlap with at least two of these three claim families, which raises the freedom-to-operate bar for anyone entering with a single-angle formulation claim.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to shampoo surfactant systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where activity is shifting
Filing leadership sits with a small group of established personal-care and detergent companies, but recent-year momentum is uneven even among them.
One filer holds a clear lead
The top-ranked assignee accounts for 761 records, well ahead of fifth place at 178 and tenth place at 87. That gap signals a broad, defensively filed portfolio rather than activity concentrated in one narrow sub-technology.
Co-assignment activity is limited and mostly internal
Only ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest ones link entities within the same corporate family rather than joint filings between competitors. That points to a field where companies file independently rather than through cross-licensing or joint development structures.
Recent-year filing counts are small and volatile
Latest-year filing counts per assignee are low in absolute terms, so percentage swings look dramatic but represent only a handful of records. A move from single digits to zero, or zero to two, produces headline percentage changes that should be read as directional signals rather than firm trend lines.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | 6 | -40% |
| Unilever Global IP Limited | 5 | +67% |
| CONOPCO INC | 2 | +100% |
| Unilever IP Holdings B.V. | 2 | 0% |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | 0 | -100% |
| Unilever N.V. | 0 | — |
| Unilever PLC | 0 | — |
| Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with dense claims at the top and a declining but still active filing rate through 2024.
Map claim overlap before drafting
With A61K, C11D and A61Q claims each covering close to half of all records, a new filing needs freedom-to-operate checks across all three classes, not just the most obviously relevant one.
Explore claim overlap in EurekaWatch the under-claimed branches
Biocide-compatible and polymer-complexation surfactant approaches show comparatively thin coverage relative to the core detergency classes, which is where narrower first claims may still be available.
Run a white space search in EurekaTrack leader momentum, not just leader size
The largest filer's recent-year activity has slowed sharply, while a smaller filer's has grown; portfolio size alone does not predict where near-term competitive pressure will come from.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
Filing in this field is concentrated at the top: the five leading assignees together hold 45.3% of the 4,019 records in scope, and the top ten reach 59.5%. The leading company alone accounts for 761 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked filer at 178. Beyond the top ten, coverage spreads across a long tail of companies with much smaller portfolios, so a full picture of the space requires looking past the largest names.
The reliable complete-year comparison shows a decline: filings fell from 175 in 2021 to 116 in 2024, a 34% drop. Filing peaked earlier, in 2017, at 225 records. The 2025 and 2026 figures in the raw trend look even lower, but that is a publication-lag artefact rather than evidence of a further slowdown, since patent publication typically trails filing by around 18 months.
A61K (medicinal preparations) is the most frequent classification, appearing on 55.8% of the 4,019 records, followed closely by C11D (detergents and cleaning compositions) at 45.2% and A61Q (cosmetics use) at 44.6%. Because many formulations claim across more than one of these areas at once, the three shares add up to well over 100% of records rather than summing neatly to a total.
This filing, assigned to Monsanto Technology LLC, claims herbicidal compositions built from an etheramine alkoxylate surfactant, a high-alkoxylation alkylamine alkoxylate surfactant, and a compatibilizer such as a low-alkoxylation alkylamine alkoxylate or an alkylpolyglucoside surfactant. Its stated advantage is herbicidal efficacy combined with low eye irritation and low crop injury. Though the application is agrochemical rather than personal-care, its eye-irritation and surfactant-blend language overlaps directly with mildness-testing claims common in shampoo formulation patents, which is why it surfaces in this search.
The technology composition data points to comparatively thin coverage in classes adjacent to the core A61K, C11D and A61Q claims, such as A01N (7.7% of records, biocide compatibility) and C08L (2.8%, polymer compositions). Combinations like biocide-compatible surfactant blends or polymer-surfactant complexation systems for viscosity building show up far less often than core cleansing and cosmetic-use claims. That relative scarcity does not guarantee an easy filing, but it does mean the claim space there is less occupied than the dense core categories.
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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.