Wave Energy Converter Anti-Fouling Patents: Leaders & Gaps 2026
- 28 patent families total. This is a niche corpus — filing activity peaked in 2018 at 13 records and has not returned to that level since.
- Coatings are the exception, not the rule. F03B hydraulic machinery accounts for 15 of the IPC hits versus 6 for C09D coatings, meaning most filings protect the converter mechanism, not the anti-fouling chemistry itself.
- One family line dominates the citation table. The four most-cited records all share the same underlying 'Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species' disclosure, filed by REDJAK.
A narrow intersection of marine coatings and wave power hardware
Wave energy converter anti-fouling sits at the intersection of two much larger fields: marine biofouling prevention and ocean wave energy hardware. The dataset captures only documents where both concepts co-occur, which keeps the corpus small — 28 published families across an eleven-year window. That scale matters for interpretation: a handful of filings can shift the ranking, and the absence of activity in a given year is as informative as a spike.
The IPC split shows the field is still anchored in converter mechanics rather than surface science. F03B (hydraulic machines and engines) is the largest single bucket, ahead of C09D (coatings, paints and inks), with smaller pockets in transmission electronics, printed circuit assemblies, biocide chemistry and coating processes. That distribution suggests most applicants are patenting the device first and treating anti-fouling as a secondary, defensive claim rather than the primary invention.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Publication counts by year and IPC subclass, drawn directly from the 28 families in this corpus. Recent-year counts are understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months.
A peak in 2018, then a flat line
Filings ran to zero in 2017, rose to a peak of 13 in 2018, and by the 2022 midpoint had dropped back to zero. There is no sustained recovery visible through the most recent partial year, which reads as a short burst of activity around a single wave of applications rather than a maturing field.
Hydraulic machinery outweighs coatings three-to-one
F03B leads with 15 of the classified records, C09D coatings follow with 6, and H04B transmission-related filings account for 5. The remaining subclasses — H05K, A01N, B05D, B63B and B60L — each carry two or fewer records, marking them as exploratory rather than established filing territory.
Shares are the percentage of the 28 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Wave Energy Converter Anti-Fouling with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about wave energy converter anti-fouling and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe citation record is dominated by one disclosure family
Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species (US20190322876A1)
Multi-layer anti-fouling coatings include a first biocidal layer formed on a surface. The first biocidal layer includes at least one biocidal biocide that kills a biofouling organism on contact with the first biocidal layer. A first biostatic layer is formed between the first biocidal layer and an external environment. The first biostatic layer includes at least one biostatic biocide that inhibits a biofouling organism from attaching to the first biostatic layer.Filed by REDJAK, L.L.C., published 2019-10-24. This is one of four closely related publications in the corpus sharing the same core disclosure.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20190322875A1 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 16 |
| 2 | US20200283644A1 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 8 |
| 3 | US20190322876A1 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 8 |
| 4 | US10689527B2 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 3 |
| 5 | US11652500B2 | Containers for communication devices | 2 |
| 6 | GB2592100B | Improvements in or relating to containers for communication devices | 1 |
| 7 | US10829649B2 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 1 |
| 8 | US10519327B2 | Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species | 1 |
| 9 | US20210108606A1 | Wave-energy extraction | 1 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older publications; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (9 of 9 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say about where this field actually is
Three patterns stand out once the filing counts, IPC split and citation table are read together.
A single burst, not a trend
The filing curve does not show gradual growth interrupted by a dip — it shows one concentrated wave of activity around 2018 followed by a return to near-zero. Treat any claim of a 'growing' anti-fouling wave-energy field with caution until later years fill in.
Anti-fouling is often the secondary claim
More than twice as many records classify primarily under hydraulic machines and engines than under coatings. Applicants are largely protecting the wave energy converter's mechanism, with fouling resistance folded in as a supporting feature rather than the invention's core.
One disclosure family carries the field's influence
The four most-cited records all trace to the same 'Methods and coatings for protecting surfaces from bio-fouling species' disclosure. That concentration means the field's most-referenced prior art is narrower than the record count suggests.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to wave energy converter anti-fouling, with the prior art for and against each one.
A dominant filer, a thin co-filing network, and no recent movers
Assignee activity in this corpus is small enough that individual filers, not corporate portfolios, set the pattern. Recent-year momentum is flat across the board — every tracked assignee, including the most active ones, shows zero activity in the latest year, and one shows a full year-on-year drop to zero.
RESILICOM and Andrew Jonathan Peter David
The single strongest co-assignee pairing in the dataset links RESILICOM with an individual inventor-assignee, Andrew Jonathan Peter David, across four families — the only co-filing relationship in the corpus with meaningful weight.
No active filer in the current window
Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum, including RESILICOM and REDJAK LLC, shows zero filings in the latest year. Five Aluminum Boat & Eng Pte Ltd recorded a full year-on-year decline to zero, reinforcing that this field has gone quiet rather than consolidated.
US-centred with modest European and UK coverage
The United States receives the largest share of filings, with Europe, the United Kingdom and the WIPO PCT route each carrying three. Australia and Chile each show two, indicating occasional extension into offshore-energy-relevant jurisdictions rather than broad global filing strategies.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Moshen Energy Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| RESILICOM | 0 | — |
| REDJAK LLC | 0 | — |
| ANDREW JONATHAN PETER DAVID | 0 | — |
| FIVE ALUMINUM BOAT & ENG PTE LTD | 0 | -100% |
Reading a flat, concentrated field for what it does and doesn't tell you
A 28-family corpus with a stalled filing curve calls for targeted questions rather than broad trend-watching.
Check whether the 2018 wave has legal life left
Several of the most-cited records were published in 2019 and 2020 off filings tied to that earlier peak. Confirm current legal status and remaining term before assuming this prior art still blocks new work.
Explore filing history in Eureka →Map the coating claims against the hydraulic claims separately
Because F03B and C09D filings rarely overlap in the same family, a freedom-to-operate review should treat the mechanical converter and the surface chemistry as two distinct claim landscapes.
Run a claim comparison in Eureka →Watch for renewed filing rather than assume decline is permanent
A field can sit flat for years and then restart around a new material class or regulatory driver. Track incoming applications in the biocide and coating-process subclasses specifically.
Set up monitoring in Eureka →Common questions on wave energy converter anti-fouling patents
This landscape captures 28 published patent families between 2015 and mid-2026, drawn from a search combining wave energy converter terminology with anti-fouling coating and biofouling prevention terms. That is a small corpus by patent-landscape standards, which means individual filings and single assignees can meaningfully shift the picture. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years will undercount actual filing activity.
REDJAK, L.L.C. holds the most-cited disclosure family in this corpus, covering multi-layer biocidal and biostatic coatings, with related publications also appearing under closely connected filings. RESILICOM shows the strongest co-filing relationship in the dataset, working with an individual inventor-assignee across several families. Beyond these, filing activity is thin and spread across a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants, so no single company holds a dominant, current-generation portfolio.
The filing trend points to slowing, or at minimum stalled, activity. Publications ran at zero in 2017, spiked to a peak of 13 in 2018, and had fallen back to zero by the 2022 midpoint, with no sustained recovery through the most recent partial year. This pattern looks like a single concentrated wave of filings rather than a steadily growing field, though the most recent years should be read cautiously given publication lag.
US20190322876A1, assigned to REDJAK, L.L.C. and published in October 2019, claims a multi-layer anti-fouling coating combining a biocidal layer that kills fouling organisms on contact with a separate biostatic layer that inhibits attachment before contact occurs. It sits within a cluster of closely related REDJAK publications that together carry the heaviest citation weight in this corpus. Anyone designing a two-layer biocidal-plus-biostatic coating architecture should review this family and its siblings closely, though single-layer or non-biocidal fouling-resistant approaches may fall outside its claims.
The IPC composition shows heavy concentration in hydraulic machinery (F03B) and general coatings (C09D), but only one or two records each in biocide chemistry, coating processes, marine vessel integration and electric drivetrain components. That imbalance suggests under-claimed territory in areas like biostatic-layer chemistry tailored to specific biocides, coating processes applied directly during hydraulic converter hull manufacture, and fouling-resistant enclosures for offshore sensor and drivetrain electronics. These branches show filing activity but not the density seen in the core mechanical and coating classes.
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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.