PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A42

A42B - HATS

Hats; head coverings. 2,474 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

2,474
US patents granted
A42
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+49%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

HATS ranks #346 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,474 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 49% over five years.

#346
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,474
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Bell Sports
leading assignee (95)
+49%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Bell Sports, Inc. (95 patents)

CPC subclass A42B - HATS; HEAD COVERINGS - covers 2,474 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A42 (HEADWEAR). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A42B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Bell Sports, Inc. leads with 95 patents, followed by Riddell, Inc. at 49 grants and Bauer Hockey Llc at 44.

Filing activity in A42B is up 49% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A42B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A42B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 49% versus 2015–2019.

100150200250300 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 204

Who leads A42B?

The 12 most active assignees in HATS; HEAD COVERINGS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Bell Sports is the most active filer in A42B, holding 95 of the 2,474 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A42B
Rank Company Patents in A42B
#1 Bell Sports, Inc. 95
#2 Riddell, Inc. 49
#3 Bauer Hockey Llc 44
#4 Kranos IP Corporation 34
#5 Gentex Corporation 31
#6 MIPS AB 31
#7 Stryker Corporation 27
#8 Shoei Co., Ltd. 24
#9 Lincoln Global, Inc. 22
#10 Wilcox Industries Corp. 22
#11 Revision Military S.a.r.l. 21
#12 Vicis IP, Llc 17
#13 Brainguard Technologies, Inc. 16
#14 Dräger Safety Ag & Co. KGAA 14
#15 ZIH Corp. 14
#16 Illumagear, Inc. 14
#17 Sport Maska Inc. 13
#18 Racing Optics, Inc. 13
#19 Galvion Ltd. 13
#20 Lionhead Helmet Intellectual Properties, Lp 13

About This Class

CPC subclass A42B belongs to class A42.

2,474 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A42B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 020406080100 Patents in A42B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Bell SportsRiddellBauer HockeyKranos IpGentexMips AbStrykerShoeiLincoln GlobalWilcox IndustriesRevision Military r LVicis IpBrainguardDrÄGer Safety & Kgaa
Top 14 A42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A42B?
CPC subclass A42B covers HATS; HEAD COVERINGS. It belongs to CPC class A42 (HEADWEAR), with 2,474 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A42B?
2,474 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A42B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A42B?
Bell Sports, Inc. leads A42B with 95 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A42B collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A42) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A42B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.