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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 grant trajectory.

6,010
US patents granted
#1/3
in A43
67.9%
A43 class share
+33%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Characteristic Features Of Footwear ranks #233 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,010 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 33% over five years.

#233
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,010
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (2,694)
+33%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How tightly A43B concentrates

Nike, Inc. holds 44.8% of A43B's recorded grants (2,694 of 6,010) - 2,452 more than adidas AG. Across complete PatentsView years, the class peaked in 2024 at 727 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 334 (+118% peak-over-trough). Equal-window velocity 2020–2024 vs 2015–2019: +33% (3,099 vs 2,335 grants).

Leaderboard read

A43B concentration, lead at 44.8%

Nike, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 44.8% of A43B - us corporation assignees hold 79% of class grants (3,751 of 4,751). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
44.8%

2,694 of 6,010 grants

Top three share
51.5%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
2,452

more grants than adidas AG

Where A43B sits inside A43

Among 3 subclasses in A43 (Footwear), A43B ranks #1 and holds 67.9% of the parent class's 8,847 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A43C 1,793 A43D 1,044

Rising assignees active in A43B

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Kornit Digital Technologies Ltd. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 6 in A43B
  2. #2 O2 Partners, LLC 7.33x 3 → 22 company-wide · 12 in A43B
  3. #3 Athletic Propulsion Labs LLC 6.00x 1 → 6 company-wide · 10 in A43B
  4. #4 Salomon S.A.S. 5.17x 6 → 31 company-wide · 19 in A43B
  5. #5 Orpyx Medical Technologies Inc. 5.00x 2 → 10 company-wide · 8 in A43B

A43B grants by year, peak 2024 (727)

US utility-patent grants per year in A43B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 33% 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

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). 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).

Classes near A43B's 6,010-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A43B (#233 of 670 by volume ; lead share 44.8%) - not the A43 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

D06F 6,009 C30B 5,993 A24F 5,971 B23Q 5,906

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A43D 50.5% A43C 52.7% B62L 33.0% B66B 33.0%

Questions about A43B

Which company holds the most patents in A43B?
Nike, Inc. leads A43B with 2,694 patents (44.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 79% of class grants.
Which A43B assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A43B, Kornit Digital Technologies Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (11x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 11 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A43B compare inside parent class A43?
Inside A43 (Footwear), A43B ranks #1 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 67.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A43C (1,793 grants).

What to do with this data

A43B in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A43B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (6,010 grants in the tracked window).

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.