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CPC technology class · B41

B41C - Processes FOR THE Manufacture OR Reproduction OF Printing…

Processes for the manufacture or reproduction of printing surfaces. 534 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

534
US patents granted
B41
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-28%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Processes FOR THE Manufacture OR Reproduction OF Printing… ranks #535 of 670 CPC technology areas - 534 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 28% over five years.

#535
of 670 CPC technology areas
534
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Fujifilm
leading assignee (93)
-28%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (93 patents)

CPC subclass B41C - PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES - covers 534 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B41 (PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B41C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Fujifilm Corporation leads with 93 patents, followed by Esko-graphics Imaging Gmbh at 19 grants and AGFA Graphics Nv at 15.

Filing activity in B41C is down 28% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B41C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B41C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 28% versus 2015–2019.

020406080100 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 22

Who leads B41C?

The 12 most active assignees in PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Fujifilm is the most active filer in B41C, holding 93 of the 534 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 B41C
Rank Company Patents in B41C
#1 Eastman Kodak Company 58
#2 Esko-graphics Imaging Gmbh 19
#3 AGFA Graphics Nv 15
#4 Flint Group Germany Gmbh 15
#5 Agfa Nv 13
#6 Think Laboratory Co., Ltd. 8
#7 XSYS Prepress N.v. 8
#8 Agfa Offset BV 8
#9 Presstek, Llc. 8
#10 Actega Metal Print Gmbh 6
#11 Duralchrome Ag 5
#12 Procraft Development B.v. 5
#13 RISO Kagaku Corporation 4
#14 Molecular Imprints, Inc. 4
#15 Mylan Inc. 4
#16 M&R Printing Equipment, Inc. 4
#17 Xeikon Prepress N.v. 4
#18 Shachihata Inc. 3
#19 BALL Beverage CAN South America S.a. 3
#20 Paramount International Services, Ltd. 3

About This Class

CPC subclass B41C belongs to class B41.

534 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 B41C 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 B41C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B41C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 020406080 Patents in B41C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Eastman KodakEsko-graphics ImagingAgfa GraphicsFlint Group GermanyAgfaThink LaboratoryXsys PrepressAgfa Offset BvPresstekActega Metal PrintDuralchromeProcraft Development…Riso KagakuMolecular Imprints
Top 14 B41C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B41C?
CPC subclass B41C covers PROCESSES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR REPRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES. It belongs to CPC class B41 (PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS), with 534 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B41C?
534 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B41C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B41C?
Fujifilm Corporation leads B41C with 93 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B41C 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., B41) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B41C 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.