CPC technology class · B31
B31F - Mechanical Working Or Deformation Of Paper
Mechanical working or deformation of paper, cardboard or material worked in a manner analogous to paper. 1,044 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.
- 1,044
- US patents granted
- #2/4
- in B31
- 26.7%
- B31 class share
- +12%
- 5-yr velocity
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, Mechanical Working Or Deformation Of Paper ranks #454 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,044 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 12% over five years.
- #454
- of 670 CPC technology areas
- 1,044
- US patents granted, 2015–2025
- The Procter & Gamble
- leading assignee (115)
- +12%
- grant velocity, last 5 yrs
How B31F's grant cadence moved
Between 2020–2024, B31F recorded 513 grants versus 460 in 2015–2019 (+12% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2021 at 113 grants and bottomed in 2017 at 70 (+61% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. holds 4.0% of the class ; the top three share 11.8%.
Leaderboard read
B31F concentration, lead at 4.0%
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 4.0% of B31F - foreign corporation assignees hold 63% of class grants (354 of 564). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.
- Leader's share
- 4.0%
- Top three share
- 11.8%
- Lead over #2
- 0
42 of 1,044 grants
of the class's recorded grants
more grants than Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Where B31F 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), B31F ranks #2 and holds 26.7% 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.
Rising assignees active in B31F
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 PulPac AB 8.00x 1 → 8 company-wide · 6 in B31F
- #2 Packsize, LLC 2.89x 18 → 52 company-wide · 9 in B31F
- #3 Fosber S.P.A. 2.25x 4 → 9 company-wide · 10 in B31F
- #4 Boegli-gravures SA 1.50x 4 → 6 company-wide · 17 in B31F
- #5 I.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A. 1.45x 31 → 45 company-wide · 5 in B31F
B31F grants by year, peak 2021 (113)
US utility-patent grants per year in B31F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 12% versus 2015–2019.
Who leads B31F?
The 12 most active assignees in Mechanical Working OR Deformation OF Paper, Cardboard OR Material Worked IN A Manner Analogous TO Paper - wider bars mean more grants
- Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
42 patents
- Kimberly-clark…
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
42 patents
- Canon Finetech Nisca
Canon Finetech Nisca Inc.
39 patents
- Gpcp Ip Holdings
Gpcp IP Holdings LLC
35 patents
- Bhs Corrugated…
BHS Corrugated Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GMBH
30 patents
- Boegli-gravures
Boegli-gravures SA
17 patents
- The Glad Products 15
THE Glad Products Company
15 patents
- Bobst Mex 15
Bobst MEX SA
15 patents
- Mitsubishi Heavy… 12
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd.
12 patents
- Georgia-pacific… 10
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP
10 patents
- Fosber S P A 10
Fosber S.P.A.
10 patents
- Packsize 9
Packsize, LLC
9 patents
What this shows The Procter & Gamble is the most active filer in B31F, holding 115 of the 1,044 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.
View data table
| Rank | Company | Patents in B31F |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | 42 |
| #2 | Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. | 42 |
| #3 | Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. | 39 |
| #4 | Gpcp IP Holdings LLC | 35 |
| #5 | BHS Corrugated Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GMBH | 30 |
| #6 | Boegli-gravures SA | 17 |
| #7 | THE Glad Products Company | 15 |
| #8 | Bobst MEX SA | 15 |
| #9 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. | 12 |
| #10 | Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP | 10 |
| #11 | Fosber S.P.A. | 10 |
| #12 | Packsize, LLC | 9 |
| #13 | Nisca Corporation | 9 |
| #14 | Georgia-Pacific Corrugated LLC | 8 |
| #15 | Scorrboard LLC | 8 |
| #16 | Daio Paper Corporation | 7 |
| #17 | Kabushiki Kaisha Isowa | 7 |
| #18 | SCA Tissue France | 7 |
| #19 | Essity Hygiene AND Health Aktiebolag | 6 |
| #20 | Orbis Corporation | 6 |
Footprint here vs. claim strategy
Each dot is a leading B31F 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.
Classes near B31F's 1,044-grant footprint
Nationwide nearest neighbors for B31F (#454 of 670 by volume ; lead share 11.0%) - not the B31 parent-class siblings above.
Nearest by grant volume
Nearest by lead-assignee share
Questions about B31F
Which company holds the most patents in B31F?
Which B31F assignees grew fastest recently?
How does B31F compare inside parent class B31?
What to do with this data
B31F in context - here's where to go next.
- Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. leads B31F with 42 grants in this class. See full portfolio
- B31F ranks #454 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 - B31F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,044 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.