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 grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

534
US patents granted: #6/11
in B41: 1.4%
B41 class share: -36%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Processes For The Manufacture Or Reproduction Of Printing… ranks #535 of 670 CPC technology areas - 534 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 36% over five years.

#535
of 670 CPC technology areas: 534
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Fujifilm
leading assignee (93): -36%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B41C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B41C recorded 194 grants versus 302 in 2015–2019 (-36% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 89 grants and bottomed in 2021 at 32 (+178% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Eastman Kodak Company holds 10.9% of the class ; the top three share 17.2%.

Leaderboard read

B41C concentration, lead at 10.9%

Eastman Kodak Company leads this historical grant record at 10.9% of B41C - foreign corporation assignees hold 60% of class grants (136 of 225). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 10.9%
Top three share: 17.2%
Lead over #2: 39

Where B41C sits inside B41

Among 11 subclasses in B41 (PRINTING; Lining MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; Stamps), B41C ranks #6 and holds 1.4% of the parent class's 38,209 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B41J 26,654 B41M 6,377 B41F 2,980 B41P 756 B41N 568 B41K 197 B41L 113 B41D 18

Rising assignees active in B41C

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 Agfa Offset BV 10x 0 → 10 company-wide · 8 in B41C
#2 Xsys Prepress N.V. 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 8 in B41C
#3 Duralchrome AG 4.00x 0 → 4 company-wide · 5 in B41C
#4 Esko-Graphics Imaging GmbH 3.00x 6 → 18 company-wide · 19 in B41C
#5 Flint Group Germany GmbH 0.77x 13 → 10 company-wide · 15 in B41C

B41C grants by year, peak 2015 (89)

US utility-patent grants per year in B41C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 36% versus 2015–2019.

Eastman Kodak

58
Esko-graphics Imaging

19
Agfa Graphics

15
Flint Group Germany

15
Agfa

13
Think Laboratory

8
Xsys Prepress

8
Agfa Offset Bv

8
Presstek

8
Actega Metal Print

6
Duralchrome

5
Procraft Development…

5

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.

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

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).

Classes near B41C's 534-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B41C (#535 of 670 by volume ; lead share 17.4%) - not the B41 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A63J 535 A46D 538 B23F 529 D05C 545

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F25D 17.1% C03C 16.8% H01T 16.7% D05B 16.6%

Questions about B41C

Which company holds the most patents in B41C?

Fujifilm Corporation leads B41C with 93 patents (10.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 60% of class grants.

Which B41C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B41C, Agfa Offset BV shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (10x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 10 in 2022–2024) while holding 8 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B41C compare inside parent class B41?

Inside B41 (PRINTING; Lining MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; Stamps), B41C ranks #6 of 11 subclasses by grant volume and holds 1.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B41J (26,654 grants).

What to do with this data

B41C in context - here's where to go next.

Eastman Kodak Company leads B41C with 58 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B41C ranks #535 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class B41, the largest sibling subclass is B41J with 26,654 grants. Explore B41J

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

Methodology - B41C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (534 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.