Liquid substances

Introduced: January 1980

Last revised: January 2026

Full Title

Disinfection or sterilisation of materials or objects, in general; Accessories therefor > using chemical substances > Liquid substances

Classification Context

Section:: HUMAN NECESSITIES
Class:: MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
Subclass:: METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES

Filing statistics

IPC A61L 2/18 belongs to the parent subclass A61L, which recorded 373,304 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 17,383 in 2013 to 34,146 in 2023 (+96%), peaking at 64,635 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class A61 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (18,523 applications), NOVARTIS (14,253 applications) and COVIDIEN (13,953 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

2 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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A61L 2/183 Ozone dissolved in a liquid
A61L 2/186 Peroxide solutions

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A61, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 18,523
NOVARTIS CH 14,253
COVIDIEN US 13,953
ROCHE CH 12,005
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 11,955
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 11,692
HARVARD UNIVERSITY US 11,596
L'OREAL FR 11,593
P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 11,297
OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 9,594