PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A44

A44B - Buttons

Buttons, pins, buckles, slide fasteners, or the like. 2,161 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

2,161
US patents granted
A44
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+8%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Buttons ranks #360 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,161 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 8% over five years.

#360
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,161
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ykk
leading assignee (333)
+8%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: YKK Corporation (333 patents)

CPC subclass A44B - BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE - covers 2,161 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A44 (HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A44B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. YKK Corporation leads with 333 patents, followed by Duraflex Hong Kong Limited at 40 grants and Aplix at 31.

Filing activity in A44B is up 8% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A44B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A44B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 8% versus 2015–2019.

100150200250 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 124

Who leads A44B?

The 12 most active assignees in BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ykk is the most active filer in A44B, holding 333 of the 2,161 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 A44B
Rank Company Patents in A44B
#1 YKK Corporation 333
#2 Duraflex Hong Kong Limited 40
#3 Aplix 31
#4 Fidlock Gmbh 28
#5 Velcro BVBA 27
#6 Velcro IP Holdings Llc 24
#7 Autoliv Development AB 21
#8 Kuraray Fastening Co., Ltd. 21
#9 S. C. Johnson & SON, Inc. 18
#10 Wonderland Switzerland Ag 18
#11 Chung Chwan Enterprise Co., Ltd. 18
#12 Gottlieb Binder Gmbh & Co. KG 17
#13 Nite Ize, Inc. 13
#14 TRW Automotive Gmbh 12
#15 Reynolds Presto Products Inc. 11
#16 Dubrosky & Tracy Patent Service Corp. 11
#17 ABA Hörtnagl Gmbh 11
#18 Woojin Plastic Co., Ltd. 10
#19 Idemitsu Unitech Co., Ltd. 10
#20 Autoliv ASP, Inc. 9

About This Class

CPC subclass A44B belongs to class A44.

2,161 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 A44B 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 A44B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A44B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A44B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A44B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 -1000100200300400 Patents in A44B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) YkkDuraflex Hong KongAplixFidlockVelcro BvbaVelcro Ip HoldingsAutoliv Development AbKuraray FasteningS C Johnson & SonWonderland SwitzerlandChung Chwan EnterpriseGottlieb Binder & KgNite IzeTrw Automotive
Top 14 A44B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A44B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A44B?
CPC subclass A44B covers BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE. It belongs to CPC class A44 (HABERDASHERY; JEWELLERY), with 2,161 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A44B?
2,161 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A44B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A44B?
YKK Corporation leads A44B with 333 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A44B 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., A44) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A44B 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.