PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A43

A43C - Fastenings Or Attachments Of Footwear

Fastenings or attachments of footwear; laces in general. 1,793 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

1,793
US patents granted
#2/3
in A43
20.3%
A43 class share
+24%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Fastenings Or Attachments Of Footwear ranks #382 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,793 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 24% over five years.

#382
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,793
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (945)
+24%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How tightly A43C concentrates

Nike, Inc. holds 52.7% of A43C's recorded grants (945 of 1,793) - 866 more than Boa Technology Inc.. Across complete PatentsView years, the class peaked in 2019 at 198 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 112 (+77% peak-over-trough). Equal-window velocity 2020–2024 vs 2015–2019: +24% (910 vs 734 grants).

Leaderboard read

A43C concentration, lead at 52.7%

Nike, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 52.7% of A43C - us corporation assignees hold 88% of class grants (1,291 of 1,461). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
52.7%

945 of 1,793 grants

Top three share
59.2%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
866

more grants than Boa Technology Inc.

Where A43C sits inside A43

Among 3 subclasses in A43 (Footwear), A43C ranks #2 and holds 20.3% 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.

A43B 6,010 A43D 1,044

Rising assignees active in A43C

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 Salomon S.A.S. 5.17x 6 → 31 company-wide · 9 in A43C
  2. #2 Asics Corporation 3.46x 26 → 90 company-wide · 15 in A43C
  3. #3 Fast IP, LLC 3.09x 11 → 34 company-wide · 26 in A43C
  4. #4 Pride Manufacturing Company, LLC 3.00x 2 → 6 company-wide · 9 in A43C
  5. #5 Fidlock GMBH 2.88x 17 → 49 company-wide · 10 in A43C

A43C grants by year, peak 2019 (198)

US utility-patent grants per year in A43C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 24% versus 2015–2019.

100120140160180200220 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 145

Who leads A43C?

The 12 most active assignees in Fastenings OR Attachments OF FOOTWEAR; Laces IN General - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nike is the most active filer in A43C, holding 945 of the 1,793 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 A43C
Rank Company Patents in A43C
#1 Nike, Inc. 945
#2 Boa Technology Inc. 79
#3 Under Armour, Inc. 38
#4 Puma SE 36
#5 Fast IP, LLC 26
#6 Athalonz, LLC 21
#7 Acushnet Company 17
#8 Asics Corporation 15
#9 Wolverine Outdoors, Inc. 11
#10 Dynasty Footwear, Ltd. 11
#11 Fuerst Group, Inc. 11
#12 Fidlock GMBH 10
#13 Salomon S.A.S. 9
#14 Mizuno Corporation 9
#15 Pride Manufacturing Company, LLC 9
#16 Cleats LLC 8
#17 Reebok International Limited 7
#18 Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. 6
#19 Converse Inc. 6
#20 S9, LLC 6

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A43C 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 A43C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 05101520 -50005001000 Patents in A43C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NikeBoa TechnologyUnder ArmourPuma SeFast IpAthalonzAcushnetAsicsWolverine OutdoorsDynasty FootwearFuerst GroupFidlockSalomon SMizuno
Top 14 A43C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A43C's 1,793-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A43C (#382 of 670 by volume ; lead share 52.7%) - not the A43 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A01F 1,791 B44C 1,788 A24B 1,799 B60D 1,802

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A43D 50.5% A43B 44.8% B62L 33.0% B66B 33.0%

Questions about A43C

Which company holds the most patents in A43C?
Nike, Inc. leads A43C with 945 patents (52.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 88% of class grants.
Which A43C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A43C, Salomon S.A.S. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (5.17x: 6 grants in 2019–2021 → 31 in 2022–2024) while holding 9 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A43C compare inside parent class A43?
Inside A43 (Footwear), A43C ranks #2 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 20.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A43B (6,010 grants).

What to do with this data

A43C 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 - A43C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,793 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.