PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B42

B42B - Permanently Attaching Together Sheets

Permanently attaching together sheets, quires or signatures or permanently attaching objects thereto. 331 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

331
US patents granted
B42
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-42%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Permanently Attaching Together Sheets ranks #576 of 670 CPC technology areas - 331 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 42% over five years.

#576
of 670 CPC technology areas
331
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Canon
leading assignee (60)
-42%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (60 patents)

CPC subclass B42B - PERMANENTLY ATTACHING TOGETHER SHEETS, QUIRES OR SIGNATURES OR PERMANENTLY ATTACHING OBJECTS THERETO - covers 331 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B42B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads with 60 patents, followed by Nisca Corporation at 12 grants and Max Co., Ltd. at 11.

Filing activity in B42B is down 42% 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 B42B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B42B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 42% versus 2015–2019.

0102030405060 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 8

Who leads B42B?

The 12 most active assignees in PERMANENTLY ATTACHING TOGETHER SHEETS, QUIRES OR SIGNATURES OR PERMANENTLY ATTACHING OBJECTS THERETO - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Canon is the most active filer in B42B, holding 60 of the 331 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 B42B
Rank Company Patents in B42B
#1 Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. 45
#2 Nisca Corporation 12
#3 Max Co., Ltd. 11
#4 ACCO Brands Corporation 10
#5 Canon Finetech Inc. 8
#6 Mueller Martini Holding Ag 6
#7 Horizon International Inc. 4
#8 Unibind Limited 3
#9 Information Planning & Management Service Inc. 3
#10 KRDC Ltd. 3
#11 Meccanotecnica S.p.a. 3
#12 Ferag Ag 2
#13 Goss International Americas, Inc. 2
#14 Staples THE Office Superstore, Llc 2
#15 Kokuyo Co., Ltd. 1
#16 Citizen Systems Japan Co., Ltd. 1
#17 PAO SHEN Enterprises Co., Ltd. 1
#18 Horizon Inc. 1
#19 Bielomatic Leuze Gmbh + Co KG 1
#20 Plockmatic International AB 1

About This Class

CPC subclass B42B belongs to class B42.

331 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 B42B 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 B42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 -1001020304050 Patents in B42B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Canon Finetech NiscaNiscaMaxAcco BrandsCanon FinetechMueller Martini Holdi…Horizon InternationalUnibindInformation Planning…KrdcMeccanotecnica S p AFeragGoss International Am…Staples The Office Su…
Top 14 B42B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B42B?
CPC subclass B42B covers PERMANENTLY ATTACHING TOGETHER SHEETS, QUIRES OR SIGNATURES OR PERMANENTLY ATTACHING OBJECTS THERETO. It belongs to CPC class B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER), with 331 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B42B?
331 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B42B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B42B?
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads B42B with 60 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B42B 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., B42) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B42B 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.