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 filing trajectory.

1,793
US patents granted
A43
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+44%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Fastenings OR Attachments OF Footwear ranks #382 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,793 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 44% over five years.

#382
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,793
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (945)
+44%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: NIKE, Inc. (945 patents)

CPC subclass A43C - FASTENINGS OR ATTACHMENTS OF FOOTWEAR; LACES IN GENERAL - covers 1,793 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 A43C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. NIKE, Inc. leads with 945 patents, followed by Boa Technology Inc. at 79 grants and Under Armour, Inc. at 38.

Filing activity in A43C is up 44% 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 A43C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A43C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 44% 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

About This Class

CPC subclass A43C belongs to class A43.

1,793 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 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).

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).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A43C?
CPC subclass A43C covers FASTENINGS OR ATTACHMENTS OF FOOTWEAR; LACES IN GENERAL. It belongs to CPC class A43 (FOOTWEAR), with 1,793 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A43C?
1,793 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A43C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A43C?
NIKE, Inc. leads A43C with 945 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A43C 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 A43C 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.