SKINS; HIDES; PELTS OR LEATHER

Classification Context

Section:: CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
Class:: SKINS; HIDES; PELTS OR LEATHER

Description

C14 covers the processing, treatment, and manufacture of animal skins, hides, pelts, and leather products, including tanning, dyeing, finishing, and mechanical working operations. This classification encompasses chemical and physical methods for converting raw animal materials into finished leather suitable for footwear, garments, upholstery, and industrial applications. Related mechanical preparation steps such as beaming, fleshing, and splitting are included, along with treatments for preservation and quality improvement. Adjacent classes address raw animal materials (A22), textile finishing (D06), and footwear/leather goods manufacture (A43).

Filing statistics

IPC C14 recorded 17,058 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 2 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 814 in 2013 to 1,627 in 2023 (+100%), peaking at 2,216 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class C14 are SHAANXI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (236 applications), SICHUAN UNIVERSITY (186 applications) and XINGYE LEATHER TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (118 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Related Keywords

treating KIPSLEATHERmanufacture of LEATHERprocesses for dyeing LEATHERtreating PELTSworking SKIN(S); treating SKIN(S)

2 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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C14B MECHANICAL TREATMENT OR PROCESSING OF SKINS, HIDES, OR LEATHER IN GENERAL; PELT-SHEARING MACHINES; INTESTINE-SPLITTING MACHINES
C14C TREATING SKINS, HIDES OR LEATHER WITH CHEMICALS, ENZYMES OR MICROORGANISMS, e.g. TANNING, IMPREGNATING OR FINISHING; APPARATUS THEREFOR; COMPOSITIONS FOR TANNING

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filings, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

SHAANXI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 236
SICHUAN UNIVERSITY 186
XINGYE LEATHER TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 118
NANTONG SIRUI ENGINEERING COMPANY 104
HENAN PROSPER SKINS & LEATHER ENTERPRISE COMPANY 93
LIAONING FUXIN NEW MATERIAL COMPANY 90
FENGAN LEATHER COMPANY 70
ZHANGZHOU XIANGZHOU LEATHER COMPANY 70
STAHL INTERNATIONAL NL 68
ZHEJIANG FUBANG GROUP COMPANY 61