PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A43

A43D - Machines

Machines, tools, equipment or methods for manufacturing or repairing footwear. 1,044 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,044
US patents granted
A43
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+37%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Machines ranks #453 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,044 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 37% over five years.

#453
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,044
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (527)
+37%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: NIKE, Inc. (527 patents)

CPC subclass A43D - MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT OR METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING OR REPAIRING FOOTWEAR - covers 1,044 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 A43D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. NIKE, Inc. leads with 527 patents, followed by Adidas Ag at 71 grants and Under Armour, Inc. at 34.

Filing activity in A43D is up 37% 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 A43D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A43D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 37% versus 2015–2019.

406080100120 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 73

Who leads A43D?

The 12 most active assignees in MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT OR METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING OR REPAIRING FOOTWEAR - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nike is the most active filer in A43D, holding 527 of the 1,044 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 A43D
Rank Company Patents in A43D
#1 NIKE, Inc. 527
#2 Adidas Ag 71
#3 Under Armour, Inc. 34
#4 Asics Corporation 23
#5 Reebok International Limited 11
#6 New Balance Athletics, Inc. 11
#7 POU CHEN Corporation 9
#8 Superfeet Worldwide Llc 7
#9 PUMA SE 6
#10 Aetrex Worldwide, Inc. 6
#11 The Topline Corporation 6
#12 OTO Industry (wuhan) Co., Ltd. 6
#13 Dynasty Footwear, Ltd. 5
#14 O2 Partners, Llc 5
#15 Kornit Digital Technologies Ltd. 5
#16 Chaei Hsin Enterprise Co., Ltd. 5
#17 Wolverine Outdoors, Inc. 4
#18 Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc. 4
#19 Sport Maska Inc. 4
#20 Orpyx Medical Technologies Inc. 4

About This Class

CPC subclass A43D belongs to class A43.

1,044 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 A43D 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 A43D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A43D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 -2000200400600 Patents in A43D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NikeadidasUnder ArmourAsicsReebok InternationalNew Balance AthleticsPou ChenSuperfeet WorldwidePuma SeAetrex WorldwideThe ToplineOto Industry (Wuhan)Dynasty FootwearO2 Partners
Top 14 A43D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A43D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A43D?
CPC subclass A43D covers MACHINES, TOOLS, EQUIPMENT OR METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING OR REPAIRING FOOTWEAR. It belongs to CPC class A43 (FOOTWEAR), with 1,044 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A43D?
1,044 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A43D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A43D?
NIKE, Inc. leads A43D with 527 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A43D 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 A43D 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.