Waterborne Polyurethane Dispersion Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- Filing has cooled since 2018. activity peaked at 150 records that year and has fallen every year since, down to single digits by the most recent partial year — publication lag means the last year or two is always undercounted.
- The top five assignees hold 25.7% of all 3,460 records. and the top ten hold 36.8% — concentrated, but with a long tail of 90 further ranked entrants still filing individually.
- Coatings and adhesive uses dominate the claim space. C08G condensation-polymer chemistry and C09D coatings both sit above the fields other IPC classes, while fabric coating and additive-use classes stay under 8% of records.
What the waterborne PUD patent record shows
Waterborne polyurethane dispersions replace solvent-borne polyurethane systems in coatings, adhesives and textile finishing, and the patent record reflects three decades of incremental chemistry work rather than a single breakthrough. The dataset covers 3,460 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from search terms centred on particle size control, hydrophilic group chemistry, crosslinker selection and film properties such as water and chemical resistance. Condensation polymer chemistry (C08G) and coatings applications (C09D) account for the largest share of records, which is consistent with a field where most invention activity sits in prepolymer synthesis and formulation rather than novel end-use categories.
Filing volume peaked in 2018 and has declined through the following years, a pattern that shows up across mature specialty-chemical categories once core prepolymer and dispersion methods are well covered by existing art. Receiving-office data spreads across the United States, Europe, China, Japan, WIPO and Canada, indicating the technology is filed and defended across all the major jurisdictions rather than concentrated in one home market.
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Filing trend and technology composition
The two views below use the full 3,460-record dataset: one tracks filing activity by year, the other breaks the same records down by IPC subclass so multi-class records are counted once per class they carry.
A field past its filing peak
Filings ran at 115 in 2017, rose to a peak of 150 in 2018, sat at 73 by the 2022 midpoint, and have fallen to single digits in the most recent partial year. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the last one to two years understate real activity, but the multi-year decline predates that lag and reflects genuine cooling in new filing.
Coatings and condensation chemistry carry the field
C08G (condensation polymers) appears on 68.8% of records and C09D (coatings, paints and inks) on 56.3%, together accounting for most of the claim density. Adhesives (C09J, 14.0%), polymer processing (C08J, 11.8%), laminates (B32B, 9.3%), additive use (C08K, 7.9%) and coated fabrics (D06N, 7.3%) each cover a smaller, more specific slice of the same underlying dispersion chemistry.
Shares are the percentage of the 3,460 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Waterborne Polyurethane Dispersions with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about waterborne polyurethane dispersions and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
US20180022854A1 — Aqueous polyurethane dispersions (Taminco, 2018)
The application describes an aqueous polyurethane dispersion built from an isocyanate-terminated prepolymer reacted in the presence of a specific N-alkylpyrrolidone solvent (n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl or tert-butyl pyrrolidone), combined with a polyisocyanate, a polyol of defined molecular weight and hydroxyl functionality range, and a water-dispersible enhancing component carrying a hydrophilic or potentially hydrophilic group.Filed by Taminco; illustrates how narrow-solvent-class claims get layered onto otherwise standard prepolymer chemistry.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5316791A | Process for improving impact resistance of coated plastic substrates | 547 |
| 2 | US3905929A | Aqueous dispersions of polyurethane having side chain polyoxyethylene units | 519 |
| 3 | US4644030A | Aqueous polyurethane – polyolefin compositions | 282 |
| 4 | US4269748A | Process for the preparation of aqueous polyurethane dispersions and solutions | 233 |
| 5 | US5173526A | Aqueous polyurethane-vinyl polymer dispersions for coating applications | 192 |
| 6 | JP2007119749A | Aqueous polyurethane resin dispersion composition for surface skin layer of fibrous laminate material, method… | 183 |
| 7 | EP0680492A1 | Process for improving impact resistance of coated plastic substrates | 180 |
| 8 | US4742095A | Continuous process for the production of aqueous polyurethane-urea dispersions | 149 |
| 9 | US5700867A | Aqueous dispersion of an aqueous hydrazine-terminated polyurethane | 144 |
| 10 | US5608000A | Aqueous polyurethane dispersion adhesive compositions with improved heat resistance | 141 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside the searched corpus; read them as a signal of influence on later art, not as a measure of current commercial relevance.
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 a filing decision
Three patterns in the dataset matter more than the raw counts on their own: where claim density sits, how concentrated ownership is, and how filing pace has moved over the covered years.
Ownership is concentrated but not closed
The top five assignees hold 25.7% of all records and the top ten hold 36.8%, leaving nearly two-thirds of the field spread across a long tail of 90 further ranked entrants plus unranked filers. That tail suggests room for a differentiated formulation claim even in a field with established leaders.
Prepolymer and coatings chemistry are the busiest classes
Condensation-polymer synthesis (C08G) and coatings formulation (C09D) each cover more than half the dataset, meaning most novelty claims compete directly against dense prior art in prepolymer design, hydrophilic-group chemistry and crosslinker selection.
New filing has slowed sharply since 2018
Activity ran at 115 in 2017, peaked at 150 in 2018, and had fallen to 73 by the 2022 midpoint before dropping further. Publication lag understates the final year or two, but the multi-year direction is a genuine slowdown rather than a data artefact.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to waterborne polyurethane dispersions, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the leading filing positions
A small group of diversified chemicals and coatings companies account for the leading share of records, with recent-year filing activity from most of them slowing to near zero.
One assignee holds a clear lead
The top-ranked assignee holds 341 records, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 106 and the tenth-place holder at 61, showing a steep drop-off after the leading position rather than an even spread among the top ten.
Cross-entity filing exists but is limited
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest pair sharing 43 records and the next strongest 40, both involving related corporate entities rather than independent competitors jointly developing chemistry.
Leading filers have gone quiet in the latest year
Several of the most active historical assignees show zero or one filing in the latest year, with year-on-year change at 0% or -100% for the entities tracked — consistent with the broader post-2018 slowdown rather than any single company exiting the space.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Global Technologies LLC | 1 | 0% |
| BASF SE | 1 | 0% |
| Covestro Deutschland AG | 0 | -100% |
| Bayer MaterialScience LLC | 0 | — |
| BASF Coatings GmbH | 0 | — |
| Bayer AG | 0 | — |
| PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. | 0 | — |
| DIC Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with concentrated leadership but a cooling filing rate and several lighter-claimed branches. The next steps depend on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, a filing strategy, or monitoring a competitor.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading holders
With the top five assignees holding a quarter of all records, any new formulation claim in prepolymer or coatings chemistry should be checked against their portfolios first.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaExplore the lighter-claimed IPC branches
Fabric coating, additive-use and laminate classes each sit under 12% of records, well below the coatings and condensation-polymer core, and may offer more open claim space.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack momentum, not just historical share
Several leading assignees show flat or declining latest-year filing; a monitoring view built on recent activity rather than cumulative totals gives a different picture than the ranking alone.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions on waterborne PUD patents
The dataset's ranked assignee list shows one clear leader holding 341 of the 3,460 records in scope, with a steep drop to the fifth-place holder at 106 and the tenth-place holder at 61. The names in the top tier are established diversified chemicals and coatings companies rather than newer specialty entrants. Beyond the top ten, which together hold 36.8% of all records, the remaining ranked entrants each hold smaller counts, so the field is concentrated at the top but has a long tail of active filers below it.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 150 records and has declined in most years since, reaching 73 by the 2022 midpoint and falling to single digits in the latest partial year of the dataset. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years will always look lower than they eventually turn out to be. Even accounting for that lag, the multi-year direction from 2018 onward is a genuine slowdown rather than a reporting artefact.
Condensation-polymer chemistry under IPC class C08G appears on 68.8% of the 3,460 records, and coatings, paints and inks under C09D appear on 56.3%, making these the two busiest classes by a wide margin. Polymer compositions (C08L), adhesives (C09J), polymer processing (C08J), laminates (B32B), additive use (C08K) and coated fabrics (D06N) each cover smaller shares, from around 21% down to 7%. Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should not be summed together.
Relative to the dense C08G and C09D core, classes tied to fabric impregnation (D06N, 7.3% of records), additive-use formulations (C08K, 7.9%) and layered laminates (B32B, 9.3%) carry noticeably lighter claim coverage. That does not mean these areas are untouched, but claim density is measurably lower than in prepolymer synthesis or general coatings formulation. A formulation claim tied specifically to crosslinker chemistry for chemical resistance, or to coalescent-free film formation, is worth checking against this lighter-covered territory before assuming the space is closed.
US20180022854A1, filed by Taminco and published in 2018, claims an aqueous polyurethane dispersion made by reacting a polyisocyanate and a defined-molecular-weight polyol in the presence of a specific N-alkylpyrrolidone solvent, together with a hydrophilic-group-bearing dispersing component. It does not block waterborne PUD chemistry generally; it blocks the specific combination of that narrow solvent class with the stated prepolymer and dispersing-agent parameters. Formulations using different solvent chemistry, or falling outside the stated molecular weight and functionality ranges, sit outside its claim scope, though a full freedom-to-operate check should compare exact claim language against any planned formulation.
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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.