Tailored Tempering Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
Tailored tempering and partial hardening patents: who holds the claims and where the field is still open
80.3% concentration. The top 5 of 20 ranked assignees hold 159 of 198 records in scope (80.3%), with a long tail below tenth place at just 4 records. Filings grew from 12 in 2017 to a peak of 34 in 2024, including a 143% rise from 2021 (14) to 2024 (34). 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in under normal publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown.
- 1ARCELORMITTAL SA73
- 2AUTOMATION PRESS & TOOLING AP&T AB33
- 3OUTOKUMPU OY32
- 4DSM IP ASSETS BV11
- 5INNOMAQ 21 SL10
See the full tailored tempering and partial hardening analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
What is tailored tempering in patent terms, and how does it differ from partial hardening?
In this dataset, tailored tempering and partial hardening are treated as closely related process families rather than distinct technologies: both describe creating a deliberate microstructure gradient in a single formed part, typically by controlling die temperature zoning or localized cooling rate during hot forming. Partial hardening claims tend to focus on the cooling step and mold hardware, while tailored tempering claims often extend into post-forming heat treatment. The IPC composition here shows heavy overlap between C21D heat treatment and B21D sheet-metal working, confirming the two are usually claimed together rather than separately. A freedom-to-operate search should cover both terms jointly, as this search string does.
Who are the leading patent holders in tailored tempering and partial hardening?
The ranking covers 20 assignees, with the leader holding 73 of the 198 records in scope and the top 5 combined holding 159 records, or 80.3% of the field. That concentration falls off sharply after fifth place, where the total is 10 records, and by tenth place it is down to 4. The named leaders in this space are steel producers and forming-equipment specialists rather than a broad set of automakers, which matters when assessing supplier versus OEM freedom to operate.
Is the tailored tempering patent field still growing?
Yes, based on the years that can be read reliably. Filings rose from 14 in 2021 to a peak of 34 in 2024, a 143% increase over that three-year span. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear lower in the raw data, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual slowdown, so those two years should not yet be read as a trend reversal.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Tailored Tempering and Partial Hardening covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.