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 filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

1,044
US patents granted: B31
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +24%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Mechanical Working OR Deformation OF Paper ranks #453 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,044 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 24% over five years.

#453
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,044
US patents granted, 2015–2025: The Procter & Gamble
leading assignee (115): +24%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company (115 patents)

CPC subclass B31F - MECHANICAL WORKING OR DEFORMATION OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER - covers 1,044 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class 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). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B31F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Procter & Gamble Company leads with 115 patents, followed by Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc. at 42 grants and Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. at 39.

Filing activity in B31F is up 24% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B31F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B31F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 24% versus 2015–2019.

Fuji Xerox

42
Kimberly-clark Worldw…

42
Canon Finetech Nisca

39
Gpcp Ip Holdings

35
Bhs Corrugated Maschi…

30
Boegli-gravures

17
The Glad Products

15
Bobst Mex

15
Mitsubishi Heavy Indu…

12
Georgia-pacific Consu…

10
Fosber S P A

10
Packsize

9

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

Top patent holders in CPC subclass B31F
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

About This Class

CPC subclass B31F belongs to class B31.

1,044 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 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.

Top 14 B31F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B31F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B31F?

CPC subclass B31F covers MECHANICAL WORKING OR DEFORMATION OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER. It belongs to CPC class 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), with 1,044 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in B31F?

1,044 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B31F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in B31F?

The Procter & Gamble Company leads B31F with 115 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for B31F 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., B31) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B31F 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.