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 grant trajectory.

2,161
US patents granted
#1/3
in A44
52.7%
A44 class share
-4%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Buttons ranks #360 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,161 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 4% over five years.

#360
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,161
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ykk
leading assignee (333)
-4%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A44B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A44B recorded 982 grants versus 1,024 in 2015–2019 (-4% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 232 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 162 (+43% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee YKK Corporation holds 15.4% of the class ; the top three share 18.7%.

Leaderboard read

A44B concentration, lead at 15.4%

YKK Corporation leads this historical grant record at 15.4% of A44B - foreign corporation assignees hold 67% of class grants (842 of 1,251). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
15.4%

333 of 2,161 grants

Top three share
18.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
293

more grants than Duraflex Hong Kong Limited

Where A44B sits inside A44

Among 3 subclasses in A44 (HABERDASHERY; Jewellery), A44B ranks #1 and holds 52.7% of the parent class's 4,104 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A44C 1,629 A44D 314

Rising assignees active in A44B

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 Team NexBelt Operating, Inc. 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 6 in A44B
  2. #2 Frederick Goldman, Inc. 5.00x 0 → 5 company-wide · 5 in A44B
  3. #3 Riri S.A. 3.00x 0 → 3 company-wide · 7 in A44B
  4. #4 Central Lake Armor Express, Inc. 3.00x 0 → 3 company-wide · 5 in A44B
  5. #5 Pandora A/S 3.00x 2 → 6 company-wide · 5 in A44B

A44B grants by year, peak 2020 (232)

US utility-patent grants per year in A44B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 4% 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

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). 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).

Classes near A44B's 2,161-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A44B (#360 of 670 by volume ; lead share 15.4%) - not the A44 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B24D 2,145 D03D 2,141 F27B 2,129 G09C 2,112

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B67C 15.5% B25D 15.3% A41B 15.2% A47D 15.6%

Questions about A44B

Which company holds the most patents in A44B?
YKK Corporation leads A44B with 333 patents (15.4% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 67% of class grants.
Which A44B assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A44B, Team NexBelt Operating, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (6.00x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 6 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A44B compare inside parent class A44?
Inside A44 (HABERDASHERY; Jewellery), A44B ranks #1 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 52.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A44C (1,629 grants).

What to do with this data

A44B 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 - A44B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,161 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.