PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B41

B41N - Printing Plates OR Foils

Printing plates or foils ; materials for surfaces used in printing machines for printing, inking, damping, or the like; preparing such surfaces for use and conserving them. 568 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

568
US patents granted
B41
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-25%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Printing Plates OR Foils ranks #525 of 670 CPC technology areas - 568 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 25% over five years.

#525
of 670 CPC technology areas
568
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Fujifilm
leading assignee (57)
-25%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (57 patents)

CPC subclass B41N - PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS ; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM - covers 568 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 B41N is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Fujifilm Corporation leads with 57 patents, followed by Tesa SE at 10 grants and Esko-graphics Imaging Gmbh at 9.

Filing activity in B41N is down 25% 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 B41N innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B41N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 25% versus 2015–2019.

020406080 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 18

Who leads B41N?

The 12 most active assignees in PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS ; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Fujifilm is the most active filer in B41N, holding 57 of the 568 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 B41N
Rank Company Patents in B41N
#1 Landa Corporation Ltd. 16
#2 Tesa SE 10
#3 Esko-graphics Imaging Gmbh 9
#4 Flint Group Germany Gmbh 8
#5 Shuhou Co., Ltd. 8
#6 Macdermid Graphics Solutions, Llc 7
#7 Day International, Inc. 7
#8 Think Laboratory Co., Ltd. 6
#9 Presstek, Llc. 6
#10 BALL Corporation 5
#11 XSYS Prepress N.v. 5
#12 Agfa Offset BV 5
#13 Paramount International Services, Ltd. 5
#14 Kba-notasys Sa 4
#15 Hydro Aluminium Deutschland Gmbh 4
#16 Toyobo MC Corporation 3
#17 I. MER Co., Ltd. 3
#18 Esko Software BV 3
#19 NBC Meshtec Inc. 3
#20 BALL Beverage CAN South America S.a. 3

About This Class

CPC subclass B41N belongs to class B41.

568 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 B41N 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 B41N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B41N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 05101520 Patents in B41N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Landatesa SeEsko-graphics ImagingFlint Group GermanyShuhouMacdermid Graphics So…Day InternationalThink LaboratoryPresstekBallXsys PrepressAgfa Offset BvParamount Internation…Kba-notasys
Top 14 B41N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B41N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B41N?
CPC subclass B41N covers PRINTING PLATES OR FOILS ; MATERIALS FOR SURFACES USED IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING, INKING, DAMPING, OR THE LIKE; PREPARING SUCH SURFACES FOR USE AND CONSERVING THEM. It belongs to CPC class B41 (PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS), with 568 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B41N?
568 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B41N between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B41N?
Fujifilm Corporation leads B41N with 57 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B41N 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 B41N 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.