Fastest
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/unsaturated-polyester-resins-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Polymers & ResinsUnsaturated Polyester Resins: Patents, Filing Leaders and Where Activity Has Cooled
- Filing has been flat to declining since 2020, with the peak year at 63 filings and the trend down to single digits by the most recent (partial) year — a mature, occupied claim space rather than a growing one.
- The top 5 assignees hold 19.8% of all 3,216 records, and the top 10 hold 28.7% — meaningful concentration at the head, but over 70% of filings sit outside the ten leading assignees.
- Japan is the dominant receiving office at 1,083 records, more than double China (470) and well ahead of the United States (415), which shapes where freedom-to-operate risk actually concentrates.
3,216
Published Records
20%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-58%
3-Yr Growth (lag-adjusted)
JP
Leading Jurisdiction
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What the unsaturated polyester resin patent record shows
Unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) sit at the intersection of condensation and addition polymer chemistry, and the patent record reflects that split: claims cluster around polymer compositions (C08L) and addition polymer components (C08F), with a substantial secondary body of work on additives, condensation routes and processing. The search scope here narrows further to formulation-control problems — styrene emission reduction, gel time, exotherm control, shrinkage, surface profile, corrosion-resistant grades and recycled-PET-based routes — rather than the resin chemistry in general.
Filing activity across the 3,216 records in scope peaked in 2020 and has declined since, with the most recent year understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Assignee concentration is moderate: a handful of large chemical manufacturers hold a meaningful share of filings, but the long tail of single- and few-filing entrants is substantial, which matters for anyone assessing freedom to operate outside the largest few names.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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
Let an AI agent run this analysis on your own technology
Pick a task. Every answer cites the patents behind it.
10,000 free credits to start
The data
Filing trend and technology composition
The figures below are drawn directly from the 3,216 records in scope, spanning the 2015-2026 coverage window with the most recent year still incomplete.
Filing trend: a peak in 2020, then decline
Filings rose from 61 in 2017 to a peak of 63 in 2020, then fell through the midpoint (39 in 2022) toward single digits by 2026. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the last one to two years will always look weaker than they eventually turn out to be, but the multi-year decline from the 2020 peak is a real signal, not an artefact of the lag alone.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
Polymer compositions (C08L, 52.6% of records) and addition polymer components (C08F, 42.2%) dominate, followed by additives (C08K, 32.2%) and condensation polymer chemistry (C08G, 21.8%). Processing (C08J), coatings (C09D), shaping (B29C) and laminates (B32B) each sit below 17%, marking them as secondary but non-trivial filing zones. Since records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares are calculated against the full 3,216-record base and add up to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 3,216 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 Unsaturated Polyester Resins covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Unsaturated Polyester Resins with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about unsaturated polyester resins and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey Patents
Representative and most-cited filings
Representative filing
US3852376A — Low shrinkage unsaturated polyester resin compositions containing graft copolymers
KURARAY CO., LTD.
A low-shrinkage unsaturated polyester resin composition comprising an unsaturated polyester resin and dispersed therein a powder of a polyolefinic resin graft polymerized with an unsaturated monomer having affinity for said unsaturated polyester resin.Filed by Kuraray Co., Ltd., dated 1974-12-03 — one of the earliest filings addressing shrinkage control through graft copolymer dispersion, a mechanism still referenced in later shrinkage-control art.
View full recordMost-cited records in the dataset
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5393849A | Curable polyester/polyamino compositions | 131 |
| 2 | US6034155A | Polymer concrete compositions, structures made therefrom and methods of manufacture | 118 |
| 3 | US4352897A | Resin molded stators | 88 |
| 4 | US5688867A | Low VOC unsaturated polyester systems and uses thereof | 85 |
| 5 | US5319007A | Optical plastics and methods for making the same | 74 |
| 6 | WO2008003492A1 | Unsaturated polyester resin or vinyl ester resin compositions | 71 |
| 7 | US5874503A | Low VOC unsaturated polyester systems and uses thereof | 71 |
| 8 | US4390662A | Curable resin composition | 69 |
| 9 | US3731791A | Securing of fixing elements such as anchor bolts | 69 |
| 10 | US6268464B1 | Unsaturated polyester resins | 68 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside the searched corpus; treat this table as a signal of influence, not 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 Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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
Run it yourself
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Where to run it
For builders
MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →Insights
What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the concentration, geography and technology figures are read together.
Concentration
19.8% / 28.7%
top 5 / top 10 share of 3,216 records
The head is occupied, the tail is open
The top 5 assignees account for 19.8% of all records and the top 10 for 28.7%, leaving over 70% of filings spread across a long tail of smaller and single-filing entrants. That pattern suggests the largest players hold defensible core-composition positions, while application-specific formulation work remains contestable.
Based on the 100-company ranked list returned by the data endpoint.
Geography
1,083 vs 470 vs 415
Japan vs China vs United States records
Japan leads filing volume by a wide margin
Japan's receiving-office count of 1,083 is more than double China's 470 and clearly ahead of the United States' 415, with Europe (335), the UK (170) and WIPO/PCT (128) trailing further. Freedom-to-operate review that skips Japanese filings misses the largest single pool of prior art in this field.
Receiving office counts, not family-level jurisdiction coverage.
Trend
63 → 5
peak-year (2020) filings vs most recent year
Filing momentum has turned down since 2020
The filing trend rose to a peak of 63 in 2020, sat at 39 by the 2022 midpoint, and has continued down toward the most recent partial year. Recent-year momentum by the largest assignees mirrors this: several show zero filings in the latest year, some with -100% YoY change.
Most recent year is partial; publication lag understates true recent activity.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to unsaturated polyester resins, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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
Players
Who is filing, and where the field is still open
Filing leadership sits with a small set of established resin and chemicals manufacturers, but their recent-year activity has slowed sharply, and several under-claimed formulation branches remain accessible to new entrants.
Leader
184 records
leading assignee's record count
A clear volume leader, with recent activity cooling
The leading assignee holds 184 records, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 73 and tenth place at 48. Several of the largest assignees, however, show zero filings in the most recent year, including one with a reported -100% year-on-year change, which points to a mature portfolio being maintained rather than actively expanded.
Ranking covers the 100 companies returned by the data endpoint.
Collaboration
10 co-assignee pairs
identified collaborative filing relationships
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest pair by shared filing count is markedly ahead of the others. Most filing activity in this field is done by single assignees rather than joint ventures or co-development arrangements.
Counted at the record level, not deduplicated to families.
Geography
1,083 records
Japan receiving-office filings
Filing activity is Japan-centric
With 1,083 records filed through the Japanese receiving office against 470 for China and 415 for the United States, the competitive core of this field is concentrated in Japan. Assignees evaluating clearance risk should weight Japanese prior art accordingly.
Receiving office counts from the full 3,216-record dataset.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| DSM IP Assets B.V. | 0 | — |
| Resonac Corporation | 0 | — |
| DIC Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| NOF Corporation | 0 | — |
| Resonac Holdings Corporation | 0 | — |
| Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Showa Highpolymer Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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
What's next
Where to take this next
The dataset points to a mature, Japan-centric field with concentrated leadership and a cooling filing trend — the next steps depend on whether the goal is clearance, licensing, or identifying open formulation space.
Map claims against the under-claimed branches
Cross-reference the gate chips above — recycled-PET-based routes, corrosion-resistant grades, low-emission curing — against active portfolios to see which are genuinely open versus lightly documented.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack the leading assignees' recent filings
Several top assignees show zero filings in the latest year; confirm whether that reflects a genuine pullback or publication lag before treating any branch as abandoned.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaReview the most-cited prior art directly
The most-cited records date from the 1980s-1990s; read the actual claim scope of these before assuming they still constrain current formulation work.
Read full patent texts in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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 on unsaturated polyester resin patents
The dataset ranks 100 assignees by record count, with the leading assignee holding 184 records against 73 for the fifth-ranked and 48 for the tenth-ranked. Together the top 5 account for 19.8% of all 3,216 records in scope and the top 10 for 28.7%, meaning the majority of filings are spread across a long tail of smaller filers. This concentration pattern is typical of a mature specialty chemicals field: a few large manufacturers hold core composition positions while formulation-specific innovation remains open to a wide range of participants.
Filing activity peaked in 2020 at 63 records and has declined since, falling to 39 by the 2022 midpoint and continuing down toward the most recent year. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the very latest year in any dataset will understate true activity, but the multi-year downward trend from the 2020 peak predates that lag effect. Several of the largest assignees also report zero filings in the latest year, reinforcing that this is a field in a maintenance phase rather than an expansion phase.
Japan is the dominant receiving office with 1,083 records, more than double China's 470 and ahead of the United States' 415. Europe (EPO) follows with 335, then the United Kingdom at 170 and WIPO/PCT filings at 128. Any freedom-to-operate or competitive review of this space should prioritise Japanese-language prior art given its outsized share of the record base.
Polymer compositions (IPC class C08L) appear in 52.6% of the 3,216 records in scope, and addition polymer components (C08F) appear in 42.2%, making these the two densest claim zones. Additives (C08K, 32.2%) and condensation polymer chemistry (C08G, 21.8%) follow as secondary but substantial areas. Processing, coatings, shaping and laminate classes each sit under 17%, indicating comparatively lighter claim density in application-specific areas versus core resin and additive chemistry.
US3852376A, filed by Kuraray Co., Ltd. and dated 1974-12-03, claims a low-shrinkage unsaturated polyester resin composition using a dispersed graft-copolymer powder to control shrinkage. It is a foundational reference for shrinkage-control mechanisms in this field rather than a currently enforceable barrier, given its age. Its continued relevance is as prior art that later shrinkage-control filings must be read against, not as an active infringement risk.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Unsaturated Polyester Resins 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
Research Unsaturated Polyester Resins in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole unsaturated polyester resins corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.