Ownership and geography reveal competitive strategy: which companies are building large portfolios, which markets they consider worth protecting, and which countries act as innovation hubs.

The leading assignees

Unique inventions: L’Oréal in front

Counting one representative patent per family gives the number of distinct inventions each company has produced. L’Oréal leads clearly with 24 families, well ahead of Kao Corporation with 10. The remaining places are close together and mix large multinationals with specialists.

The list suggests three kinds of player. Global beauty and personal-care groups (L’Oréal, Unilever, P&G) invest because dry shampoo is a commercial product line. Japanese firms such as Kao, Toray and Shiseido bring strong chemistry and materials capability. Specialist suppliers such as Toyo Aerosol Industry, a maker of aerosol products, and Shin-Etsu, known for silicones and cellulose derivatives, contribute formulation and packaging know-how.

Overall volume: counting every family member

When all family members are counted, the numbers shift in a revealing way, because they capture how widely each company seeks protection.

L’Oréal remains first with 159 publications, followed by P&G with 109. Procter & Gamble moves from a shared fourth position by invention count to second by volume. That implies it files each invention in many countries. Several newcomers also appear: National Patent Development Corp., Allergan, Micro Vesicular System, Bristol Myers and Nestlé. Their patents probably touch dry shampoo as one application of wider technology, such as pharmaceutical carriers, vesicle technology or food-derived ingredients. Kao falls to eighth, which suggests it has many inventions but narrower geographic coverage.

Recent activity of the top players

A year-wise view of three leading assignees adds more detail. In the final two years of the data set, Kao and L’Oréal were level, with 4 patent families each. Between 2011 and 2014, L’Oréal and Unilever produced similar numbers of new families. When all publications are counted, P&G stands out in 2015, with 11 publications, the highest of any company in that year.

This points to a competitive dynamic. L’Oréal has the broadest long-term portfolio, P&G is pushing hard with recent filings, and Kao and Unilever remain active in the same period. The 2014 to 2015 peak in overall filings identified in Part 1 is therefore largely a product of these major players expanding their dry shampoo ranges at the same time.

Where innovation originates

Jurisdiction of origin, using the representative member of each family, shows where inventions are first created. The result is not what total filing volume might suggest.

Japan is the leading source of dry shampoo innovation, with 66 families, ahead of the United States (54) and France (30). The Japanese output is spread across many firms: Kao accounts for about 14% of it, followed by Mochida Pharmaceutical (9%), Toray (7%) and Shiseido (5%), while roughly 65% comes from other applicants. That fragmentation implies a deep and varied research base rather than dependence on one company. France is anchored by L’Oréal, and its pie chart also includes smaller inventors and individuals. South Korea, Great Britain, Germany and China contribute smaller but visible shares. India appears with 5 families, an early indication of regional interest.

Where companies file

Where companies choose to file is a statement about the markets they expect to compete in. L’Oréal’s 159 publications break down into 22 in the United States, 14 in Japan, 5 each in Europe and Canada and 2 in Australia, with the large remainder (110) spread over many other jurisdictions, which suggests a truly global strategy. P&G’s 109 publications include 28 in the US, 9 at the European Patent Office, 7 in Canada, 4 in Japan and 2 in Australia, with 59 elsewhere. Allergan and National Patent Development Corp. each have 18 US filings, which shows that the US is the leading target market even for non-cosmetic firms. Toray, as might be expected from a Japanese company, has a more domestic profile, with 9 in Japan alongside 5 in the US.

A note on reading the chart: the study text says L’Oréal has the highest number of US filings, but the chart shows 22 for L’Oréal and 28 for P&G. The chart values are used here. Either way, both companies place the US at the centre of their filing strategy.

The global distribution of patent activity

A heat map of all patents and published applications confirms the geographic concentration. The United States leads with 183, followed by Japan with 130. Next come WIPO international applications (100), the European Patent Office (77), Germany (65), Great Britain (58), Canada (55), France (51), China (50) and Australia (43). The study highlights the US as the dominant market, with Japan second.

Two readings stand out. First, the gap between where inventions originate (Japan first) and where they are filed (US first) shows that the US market is the prize that applicants in every country want to reach. Second, the high number of WIPO filings (100) indicates that applicants are using the international route to keep options open across many countries. The presence of China and Australia in the top ten, with 50 and 43, suggests that those markets are of growing interest even though they are not yet leading sources of invention.