CPC technology class · B41

B41F - Printing Machines Or Presses

Printing machines or presses. 2,980 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

2,980
US patents granted: #3/11
in B41: 7.8%
B41 class share: -11%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Printing Machines Or Presses ranks #317 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,980 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 11% over five years.

#317
of 670 CPC technology areas: 2,980
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Koenig & Bauer
leading assignee (127): -11%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B41F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B41F recorded 1,285 grants versus 1,446 in 2015–2019 (-11% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2016 at 355 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 234 (+52% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Koenig & Bauer AG holds 4.3% of the class ; the top three share 9.2%.

Leaderboard read

B41F concentration, lead at 4.3%

Koenig & Bauer AG leads this historical grant record at 4.3% of B41F - foreign corporation assignees hold 75% of class grants (1,137 of 1,515). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 4.3%
Top three share: 9.2%
Lead over #2: 36

Where B41F sits inside B41

Among 11 subclasses in B41 (PRINTING; Lining MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; Stamps), B41F ranks #3 and holds 7.8% 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 B41P 756 B41N 568 B41C 534 B41K 197 B41L 113 B41D 18

Rising assignees active in B41F

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 Hymmen GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 7 in B41F
#2 Ekra Automatisierungssysteme GMBH 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 10 in B41F
#3 Bobst Bielefeld GMBH 5.67x 3 → 17 company-wide · 22 in B41F
#4 Asmpt SMT Singapore PTE. Ltd. 5.00x 0 → 5 company-wide · 6 in B41F
#5 Scribe Opco, Inc. 4.00x 2 → 8 company-wide · 5 in B41F

B41F grants by year, peak 2016 (355)

US utility-patent grants per year in B41F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 11% versus 2015–2019.

Koenig & Bauer

127
Heidelberger…

91
Komori

56
Kba-notasys

41
Fuji

33
Eastman Kodak

31
M&R Printing Equipment

24
Hp Indigo B V

23
Bobst Mex

23
Goss International…

23
Stolle Machinery

22
Windmöller & Hölscher…

22

What this shows Koenig & Bauer is the most active filer in B41F, holding 127 of the 2,980 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 B41F
Rank	Company	Patents in B41F
#1	Koenig & Bauer AG	127
#2	Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG	91
#3	Komori Corporation	56
#4	Kba-notasys SA	41
#5	Fuji Corporation	33
#6	Eastman Kodak Company	31
#7	M&R Printing Equipment, Inc.	24
#8	HP Indigo B.V.	23
#9	Bobst MEX SA	23
#10	Goss International Americas, Inc.	23
#11	Stolle Machinery Company, LLC	22
#12	Windmöller & Hölscher KG	22
#13	Ceraloc Innovation AB	22
#14	Bobst Bielefeld GMBH	22
#15	X Display Company Technology Limited	19
#16	Ball Corporation	17
#17	Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co. KG	16
#18	Stahls' Inc.	15
#19	I. MER Co., Ltd.	15
#20	Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V.	14

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B41F 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 B41F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B41F's 2,980-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B41F (#317 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.3%) - not the B41 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C23F 2,985 B64G 2,994 A46B 2,997 E05C 2,961

Nearest by lead-assignee share

H04L 4.3% B42D 4.3% B23P 4.3% G21K 4.3%

Questions about B41F

Which company holds the most patents in B41F?

Koenig & Bauer AG leads B41F with 127 patents (4.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 75% of class grants.

Which B41F assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B41F, Hymmen GmbH Maschinen- und Anlagenbau shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (7.00x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 7 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B41F compare inside parent class B41?

Inside B41 (PRINTING; Lining MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; Stamps), B41F ranks #3 of 11 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B41J (26,654 grants).

What to do with this data

B41F in context - here's where to go next.

Koenig & Bauer AG leads B41F with 127 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B41F ranks #317 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 - B41F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,980 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.