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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/sunscreen-formulation-and-uv-filters-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Cosmetics & Personal CareSunscreen formulation and UV filter patents: who holds the ground and where it opens up
- Filing activity peaked in 2021 at 30 records and fell to 8 by 2024, a 73% drop over that three-year span — the clearest sign the field's core claim space has already been staked out.
- The top 5 assignees hold 36.3% of all 245 records while the top 10 combined reach 51.8%, leaving a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants competing for the rest.
- A61K and A61Q dominate at 93.5% and 88.2% of records but narrower classes like G01N testing methods and B01J dispersion processes sit under 3% each — a sign of where formulation claims are thin.
245
Published Records
36%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-73%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (30 records) with 2024 (8) — 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 245 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··6 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
This review covers 245 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine sunscreen formulation or UV filter dispersion language with technical criteria such as SPF, UVA balance, photostability, white cast, water resistance and reef-safe alternatives. The scope captures both the physical/inorganic filter side of the field and the organic filter chemistry side, alongside delivery-format claims such as sprays, wipes and stick formats.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 counts in the underlying trend are still incomplete and should not be read as the field cooling off further than the 2021-to-2024 decline already shows.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Filing Trends & Classification
Filing trend and technology composition
The record set spans a decade of activity, with filings concentrated in a five-year window before receding from their peak.
A 2021 peak followed by a sharp pullback
Filings rose to 30 in 2021, the high point of the period, then declined to 8 by 2024 — a fall of 73% over that span. Earlier years, including 2017 at 15, show the field was already active well before the peak, meaning the runway was building steadily rather than appearing suddenly.
Medicinal and cosmetic classes dominate, testing and dispersion classes are thin
A61K (medicinal preparations) and A61Q (cosmetics use) together cover the large majority of records at 93.5% and 88.2% respectively, confirming that most filings frame sunscreen work as either a therapeutic composition or a cosmetic use claim. Smaller classes — A61P therapeutic activity at 7.8%, C07K peptides at 4.5%, C09K materials at 2.9%, G01N testing at 2.4%, A61B diagnosis at 2.0% and B01J catalysis/dispersion processes at 1.6% — point to formulation-adjacent areas that carry far fewer claims relative to the whole record set.
Shares are the percentage of the 245 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 Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Most-cited records and a representative filing
Representative Filing
Gadusol-containing sunscreen formulations (US20230157935A1, ARCAEA, LLC, 2023-05-25)
ARCAEA, LLC
The filing discloses a sunscreen formulation combining a physical/inorganic sunscreen active at roughly 5–25% w/w with gadusol, where the gadusol is present at a level sufficient to produce an SPF-boosting effect on top of the SPF contributed by the inorganic active, delivered through a defined ingredient carrier system.Abstract condensed from the published filing for length.
Highest-citation records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20090061001A1 | Sunscreen aerosol spray | 79 |
| 2 | US20050249682A1 | Long lasting waterproof sunscreen comprising metal oxide and peptide conditioner | 63 |
| 3 | US7309482B2 | Long lasting waterproof sunscreen comprising metal oxide and peptide conditioner | 53 |
| 4 | US20040228811A1 | Sunscreen wipes having high sunscreen formulation transfer rate | 49 |
| 5 | US6267949B1 | Sunscreen composition | 48 |
| 6 | US7175834B2 | Sunscreen composition with enhanced SPF and water resistant properties | 44 |
| 7 | US20030161795A1 | Substantially visibly transparent topical physical sunscreen formulation | 41 |
| 8 | US20050265936A1 | Cleansing foaming sunscreen lotion | 35 |
| 9 | WO2001003663A1 | Sunscreen formulations | 34 |
| 10 | US20030228267A1 | Suncreen composition wit enhanced spf and water resistant properties | 33 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
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 Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers indicate
Three patterns stand out once the record set is broken down by year, assignee and classification.
Filing Momentum
-73%
2021 to 2024
Peak-year activity has receded, not disappeared
The three-year drop from 30 filings in 2021 to 8 in 2024 is a real decline, not a data artefact — 2024 is the most recent year with a complete publication record. It suggests the initial rush to file around SPF-boosting and water-resistance claims has largely played out.
2021 remains the single highest-filing year in scope.
Concentration
36.3%
top 5 of 245 records
A moderately concentrated leadership tier
The top 5 assignees combined hold 36.3% of all 245 records, rising to 51.8% across the top 10. That leaves close to half the field split among a long tail of occasional filers, which is typical of a formulation space where many players file once or twice around a specific active or delivery format.
Leader holds 26 records; tenth place holds 7.
Filing Venues
62
US receiving-office filings
US and Europe anchor filing activity
The United States leads receiving offices at 62 filings, ahead of the EPO at 34 and WIPO/PCT at 30. India (29), Australia (23) and China (16) round out the six largest venues, indicating the field is filed broadly across major regulatory markets rather than concentrated in one jurisdiction.
Six receiving offices account for the bulk of tracked filings.
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Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to sunscreen formulation and uv filters, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Competitive Landscape
Assignees and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders span materials companies, consumer-goods majors and specialty cosmeceutical filers, but recent-year activity has cooled across the board.
Leader
26
records
A single filer well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 26 records against a fifth-place count of 9 and a tenth-place count of 7 — a steep drop-off that marks a clear leadership gap rather than a tightly bunched top tier.
Gap between 1st and 5th place is substantial.
Momentum
0
latest-year filings, leading assignees
Recent-year activity has gone quiet at the top
Several of the most active historical filers, including established chemicals and cosmeceutical names, show zero filings in the latest tracked year. This tracks with the broader 2021-to-2024 decline rather than signalling any one company exiting the space.
Momentum should be read against the 18-month publication lag.
Collaboration
7
co-assignee pairs
Co-filing is limited and inventor-driven
Only 7 co-assignee pairs appear across the record set, the strongest tied to a single large chemicals filer working with named inventors. Formal joint-assignee collaboration is the exception here, not the norm.
Pairs are concentrated around one recurring corporate filer.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV | 0 | — |
| Amyris Inc | 0 | — |
| FALLIEN COSMECEUTICALS LTD | 0 | — |
| BASF SE | 0 | — |
| E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co | 0 | — |
| ENSIGN LAB | 0 | — |
| BOTANECO INC | 0 | — |
| Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The figures above establish the shape of the field; the next step is usually a narrower question specific to a formulation route or a freedom-to-operate check.
Check freedom-to-operate on a specific active
The most-cited records concentrate around waterproof/metal-oxide formulations and spray or wipe delivery formats. A targeted claim-chart review against those records is the logical next step before committing to a similar formulation route.
Explore this topic in EurekaTrack the under-claimed branches
In vitro SPF testing, dispersion/catalysis processes and reef-safe actives all sit under 3% of records. Monitoring new filings in these classes can surface competitive moves before they reach the most-cited tables.
Set up monitoring in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about this landscape
Within this 245-record data set, the leading assignee holds 26 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked filer at 9 and the tenth-ranked filer at 7. The top 5 assignees combined account for 36.3% of all records in scope, and the top 10 reach 51.8%, meaning close to half the field is spread across a long tail of smaller filers. This pattern is common in formulation-heavy cosmetics fields where many companies file once around a specific active ingredient or delivery format rather than building a broad portfolio.
Filings peaked in 2021 at 30 records and fell to 8 by 2024, a 73% decline over that three-year span. Because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in the underlying data are still incomplete and should not be read as an extension of that decline. Based on the complete years available, the honest read is that filing activity has receded meaningfully from its 2021 high point, not that it has stopped.
The large majority of records sit in A61K (medicinal preparations), covering 93.5% of the 245 records, and A61Q (cosmetics use), covering 88.2%. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100%, which is expected. Smaller but distinct classes include A61P (therapeutic activity, 7.8%), C07K (peptides, 4.5%), C09K (materials, 2.9%), G01N (testing, 2.4%), A61B (diagnosis, 2.0%) and B01J (catalysis/dispersion processes, 1.6%), marking areas with comparatively little claim density.
The United States is the largest receiving office in this data set at 62 filings, followed by the European Patent Office at 34 and the WIPO/PCT route at 30. India (29), Australia (23) and China (16) are the next largest venues. This spread suggests filers are pursuing protection across major regulatory markets for cosmetics and personal care rather than concentrating on a single jurisdiction.
US20230157935A1, assigned to Arcaea, LLC and published in 2023, claims a sunscreen formulation combining a physical/inorganic active at roughly 5-25% w/w with gadusol at a level sufficient to boost SPF beyond what the inorganic active alone provides. Anyone formulating a gadusol-boosted inorganic sunscreen at similar concentration ranges should review this filing's claim scope closely before finalising an active-ingredient ratio. It does not block organic-filter-only formulations or gadusol used outside an SPF-boosting role with an inorganic active, which remain distinct design paths.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sunscreen Formulation and UV Filters covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. 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.