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CPC technology class · A43

A43B - Characteristic Features OF Footwear

Characteristic features of footwear; parts of footwear. 6,010 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

6,010
US patents granted
A43
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+55%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Characteristic Features OF Footwear ranks #233 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,010 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 55% over five years.

#233
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,010
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (2,694)
+55%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: NIKE, Inc. (2,694 patents)

CPC subclass A43B - CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR - covers 6,010 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A43 (FOOTWEAR). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A43B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. NIKE, Inc. leads with 2,694 patents, followed by Adidas Ag at 242 grants and Under Armour, Inc. at 158.

Filing activity in A43B is up 55% 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 A43B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A43B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 55% versus 2015–2019.

300400500600700800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 514

Who leads A43B?

The 12 most active assignees in CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nike is the most active filer in A43B, holding 2,694 of the 6,010 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 A43B
Rank Company Patents in A43B
#1 NIKE, Inc. 2,694
#2 Adidas Ag 242
#3 Under Armour, Inc. 158
#4 Asics Corporation 113
#5 PUMA SE 74
#6 Reebok International Limited 72
#7 FAST IP, Llc 51
#8 Mizuno Corporation 40
#9 Wolverine Outdoors, Inc. 36
#10 Bauer Hockey Llc 36
#11 ECCO Sko A/s 35
#12 Acushnet Company 30
#13 Deckers Outdoor Corporation 30
#14 Boa Technology Inc. 30
#15 Dynasty Footwear, Ltd. 30
#16 COLE HAAN Llc 29
#17 GEOX S.p.a. 27
#18 Converse Inc. 22
#19 Athalonz, Llc 22
#20 Sport Maska Inc. 21

About This Class

CPC subclass A43B belongs to class A43.

6,010 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 A43B 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 A43B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A43B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 -10000100020003000 Patents in A43B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NikeadidasUnder ArmourAsicsPuma SeReebok InternationalFast IpMizunoWolverine OutdoorsBauer HockeyEcco Sko A/SAcushnetDeckers OutdoorBoa Technology
Top 14 A43B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A43B?
CPC subclass A43B covers CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR. It belongs to CPC class A43 (FOOTWEAR), with 6,010 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A43B?
6,010 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A43B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A43B?
NIKE, Inc. leads A43B with 2,694 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A43B 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., A43) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A43B 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.