PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B31

B31C - Making Wound Articles

Making wound articles, e.g. wound tubes, of paper, cardboard or material worked in a manner analogous to paper. 88 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

88
US patents granted
#4/4
in B31
2.2%
B31 class share
+29%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Making Wound Articles ranks #624 of 670 CPC technology areas - 88 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 29% over five years.

#624
of 670 CPC technology areas
88
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Sonoco Development
leading assignee (7)
+29%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B31C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B31C recorded 44 grants versus 34 in 2015–2019 (+29% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 13 grants and bottomed in 2018 at 5 (+160% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Sonoco Development, Inc. holds 8.0% of the class ; the top three share 18.2%.

Leaderboard read

B31C concentration, lead at 8.0%

Sonoco Development, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 8.0% of B31C - foreign corporation assignees hold 52% of class grants (23 of 44). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
8.0%

7 of 88 grants

Top three share
18.2%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
2

more grants than Abzac Canada Inc.

Where B31C sits inside B31

Among 4 subclasses in B31 (Making Articles OF Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO PAPER; Working Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO Paper), B31C ranks #4 and holds 2.2% of the parent class's 3,917 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B31B 2,038 B31F 1,044 B31D 747

Rising assignees active in B31C

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 Sonoco Development, Inc. 1.10x 98 → 108 company-wide · 7 in B31C
  2. #2 Abzac Canada Inc. 1.00x 3 → 3 company-wide · 5 in B31C

B31C grants by year, peak 2024 (13)

US utility-patent grants per year in B31C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 29% versus 2015–2019.

468101214 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 10

Who leads B31C?

The 12 most active assignees in Making Wound Articles, e.g. Wound Tubes, OF Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO Paper - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Sonoco Development is the most active filer in B31C, holding 7 of the 88 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 B31C
Rank Company Patents in B31C
#1 Sonoco Development, Inc. 7
#2 Abzac Canada Inc. 5
#3 Berry Plastics Corporation 4
#4 Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP 4
#5 SCA Tissue France 4
#6 Ranpak Corp. 2
#7 Fabio Perini S.p.A. 2
#8 Chan Li Machinery Co., Ltd. 2
#9 Baselayer Technology, LLC 2
#10 Michael HÖRAUF Maschinenfabrik GMBH UND Co. KG 2
#11 Sasib S.P.A. 2
#12 Cascades Canada ULC 1
#13 Futura S.P.A. 1
#14 KÖRBER Technologies GMBH 1
#15 Hauni Maschinenbau GMBH 1
#16 Corelex Shin-ei Co., Ltd. 1
#17 Essity Operations France 1
#18 Enterprises International, Inc. 1
#19 Hoffmaster Group, Inc. 1

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B31C 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 B31C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B31C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 02468 Patents in B31C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Sonoco DevelopmentAbzac CanadaBerry PlasticsGeorgia-pacific…Sca Tissue FranceRanpakFabio Perini S p AChan Li MachineryBaselayer TechnologyMichael HÖRauf…Sasib S P ACascades Canada UlcFutura S P AKÖRber
Top 14 B31C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B31C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Questions about B31C

Which company holds the most patents in B31C?
Sonoco Development, Inc. leads B31C with 7 patents (8.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 52% of class grants.
Which B31C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B31C, Sonoco Development, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (1.10x: 98 grants in 2019–2021 → 108 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does B31C compare inside parent class B31?
Inside B31 (Making Articles OF Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO PAPER; Working Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO Paper), B31C ranks #4 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 2.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B31B (2,038 grants).

What to do with this data

B31C in context - here's where to go next.

  • Sonoco Development, Inc. leads B31C with 7 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • B31C ranks #624 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class B31, the largest sibling subclass is B31B with 2,038 grants. Explore B31B

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - B31C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (88 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.