PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A44

A44D - Indexing Scheme Relating To Buttons

Indexing scheme relating to buttons, pins, buckles or slide fasteners, and to jewellery, bracelets or other personal adornments. 314 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

314
US patents granted
#3/3
in A44
7.7%
A44 class share
+52%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Indexing Scheme Relating To Buttons ranks #579 of 670 CPC technology areas - 314 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 52% over five years.

#579
of 670 CPC technology areas
314
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Apple
leading assignee (34)
+52%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A44D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A44D recorded 182 grants versus 120 in 2015–2019 (+52% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2022 at 41 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 16 (+156% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Fidlock GMBH holds 7.0% of the class ; the top three share 15.3%.

Leaderboard read

A44D concentration, lead at 7.0%

Fidlock GMBH leads this historical grant record at 7.0% of A44D - foreign corporation assignees hold 59% of class grants (84 of 143). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
7.0%

22 of 314 grants

Top three share
15.3%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
8

more grants than Hello Inc.

Where A44D sits inside A44

Among 3 subclasses in A44 (HABERDASHERY; Jewellery), A44D ranks #3 and holds 7.7% 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.

A44B 2,161 A44C 1,629

Rising assignees active in A44D

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 Pandora A/S 3.00x 2 → 6 company-wide · 6 in A44D
  2. #2 Fidlock GMBH 2.88x 17 → 49 company-wide · 22 in A44D
  3. #3 Wonderland Switzerland AG 2.66x 119 → 317 company-wide · 11 in A44D
  4. #4 Friedman IP Holdings, LLC 1.00x 2 → 2 company-wide · 5 in A44D
  5. #5 Woojin Plastic Co., Ltd. 1.00x 34 → 34 company-wide · 5 in A44D

A44D grants by year, peak 2022 (41)

US utility-patent grants per year in A44D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 52% versus 2015–2019.

01020304050 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 10

Who leads A44D?

The 12 most active assignees in Indexing Scheme Relating TO Buttons, Pins, Buckles OR Slide Fasteners, AND TO Jewellery, Bracelets OR Other Personal Adornments - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Apple is the most active filer in A44D, holding 34 of the 314 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 A44D
Rank Company Patents in A44D
#1 Fidlock GMBH 22
#2 Hello Inc. 14
#3 Duraflex Hong Kong Limited 12
#4 Wonderland Switzerland AG 11
#5 YKK Corporation 8
#6 GUI Global Products, Ltd. 7
#7 Pandora A/S 6
#8 Woojin Plastic Co., Ltd. 5
#9 Friedman IP Holdings, LLC 5
#10 Boston Inventions, LLC 4
#11 PAJ, Inc. 3
#12 ARM IP Limited 2
#13 Sinox Company Ltd. 2
#14 Dubrosky & Tracy Patent Service Corp. 2
#15 Kuraray Fastening Co., Ltd. 2
#16 Controlrad Systems, Inc. 2
#17 AST Design, LLC 2
#18 Affl Associates, Inc. 2
#19 Riri S.A. 2
#20 Koya Medical, Inc. 2

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A44D 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 A44D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A44D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 0510152025 Patents in A44D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) FidlockHelloDuraflex Hong KongWonderland SwitzerlandYkkGui Global ProductsPandora A/SWoojin PlasticFriedman Ip HoldingsBoston InventionsPajArm IpSinoxDubrosky & Tracy…
Top 14 A44D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A44D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Questions about A44D

Which company holds the most patents in A44D?
Apple Inc. leads A44D with 34 patents (7.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 59% of class grants.
Which A44D assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A44D, Pandora A/S shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (3.00x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 6 in 2022–2024) while holding 6 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A44D compare inside parent class A44?
Inside A44 (HABERDASHERY; Jewellery), A44D ranks #3 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A44B (2,161 grants).

What to do with this data

A44D 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 - A44D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (314 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.