A01C PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING (parts, details or accessories of agricultural machines or implements, in general A01B51/00 - A01B75/00)
Description
Subclass A01C covers machinery, devices, and methods for planting seeds, sowing crops, and applying fertilizers to soil. This includes mechanical seeders, planters, drills, transplanters, and equipment for distributing fertilizers, manure, or soil amendments. Technologies for precision agriculture, seed spacing control, and depth adjustment mechanisms fall within this scope, as do implements drawn by animals or tractors for large-scale agricultural operations. Related classification A01B addresses primary soil preparation (ploughing, tilling), while A01D covers harvesting and post-harvest processing.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass A01C recorded 83,846 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 2,270 in 2013 to 6,952 in 2023 (+206%), peaking at 12,116 applications in 2018. The most active applicants in class A01 are JOHN DEERE (6,949 applications), MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY (6,297 applications) and DOW AGROSCIENCES (5,458 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
13 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
Navigate with arrow keys, Enter to open
- A01C 1/00 Apparatus, or methods of use thereof, for testing or treating seed, roots, or the like, prior to sowing or planting
- A01C 11/00 Transplanting machines
- A01C 13/00 Machines or apparatus for consolidating soil around plants
- A01C 14/00 Methods or apparatus for planting not provided for in other groups of this subclass
- A01C 15/00 Fertiliser distributors ( A01C7/06)
- A01C 17/00 Fertilisers or seeders with centrifugal wheels
- A01C 19/00 Arrangements for driving working parts of fertilisers or seeders
- A01C 21/00 Methods of fertilising
- A01C 23/00 Distributing devices specially adapted for liquid manure or other fertilising liquid, including ammonia, e.g. transport tanks or sprinkling wagons
- A01C 3/00 Treating manure; Manuring
- A01C 5/00 Making or covering furrows or holes for sowing, planting or manuring (ploughs for making ridges A01B13/02)
- A01C 7/00 Sowing
- A01C 9/00 Potato planters
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A01, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- JOHN DEERE US 6,949
- MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY US 6,297
- DOW AGROSCIENCES US 5,458
- BASF (BADISCHE ANILIN & SODA FABRIK) DE 5,296
- BAYER CROPSCIENCE DE 4,654
- PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL US 4,631
- SYNGENTA PARTICIPATIONS CH 4,410
- CNH INDUSTRIAL AMERICA US 4,128
- CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 3,805
- BAYER DE 3,607