PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B42

B42C - Bookbinding

Bookbinding. 578 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

578
US patents granted
B42
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-38%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Bookbinding ranks #524 of 670 CPC technology areas - 578 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 38% over five years.

#524
of 670 CPC technology areas
578
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Canon
leading assignee (72)
-38%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (72 patents)

CPC subclass B42C - BOOKBINDING - covers 578 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 B42C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads with 72 patents, followed by Mueller Martini Holding Ag at 36 grants and FUJI Xerox Co., Ltd. at 35.

Filing activity in B42C is down 38% 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 B42C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B42C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 38% versus 2015–2019.

020406080100 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 14

Who leads B42C?

The 12 most active assignees in BOOKBINDING - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Canon is the most active filer in B42C, holding 72 of the 578 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 B42C
Rank Company Patents in B42C
#1 Canon Finetech Nisca Inc. 52
#2 Mueller Martini Holding Ag 36
#3 FUJI Xerox Co., Ltd. 35
#4 Horizon International Inc. 24
#5 Nisca Corporation 23
#6 Lightning Source Llc 11
#7 Canon Finetech Inc. 10
#8 Ferag Ag 9
#9 Unibind Limited 8
#10 RISO Kagaku Corporation 6
#11 LSC Communications US, Llc 5
#12 Kolbus Gmbh & Co. KG 5
#13 Minigraphics, Inc. 5
#14 Hunkeler Ag 4
#15 Powis Parker Inc. 4
#16 Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. 3
#17 R. R. Donnelley & SONS Company 3
#18 Plockmatic International AB 3
#19 Peleman Industries, Naamloze Vennootschap 3
#20 KRDC Ltd. 3

About This Class

CPC subclass B42C belongs to class B42.

578 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 B42C 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 B42C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B42C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 0204060 Patents in B42C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Canon Finetech NiscaMueller Martini Holdi…Fuji XeroxHorizon InternationalNiscaLightning SourceCanon FinetechFeragUnibindRiso KagakuLsc Communications UsKolbus & KgMinigraphicsHunkeler
Top 14 B42C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B42C?
CPC subclass B42C covers BOOKBINDING. It belongs to CPC class B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER), with 578 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B42C?
578 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B42C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B42C?
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads B42C with 72 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B42C 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 B42C 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.