PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B42

B42D - Books

Books; book covers; loose leaves; printed matter characterised by identification or security features; printed matter of special format or style not otherwise provided for; devices for use therewith and not otherwise provided for; movable-strip writing or reading apparatus. 2,774 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

2,774
US patents granted
B42
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Books ranks #330 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,774 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 5% over five years.

#330
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,774
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Toppan Printing
leading assignee (119)
+5%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (119 patents)

CPC subclass B42D - BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS - covers 2,774 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 B42D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. leads with 119 patents, followed by Giesecke+devrient Currency Technology Gmbh at 93 grants and Sicpa Holding Sa at 92.

Filing activity in B42D is up 5% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B42D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B42D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 5% versus 2015–2019.

150200250300350 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 199

Who leads B42D?

The 12 most active assignees in BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Toppan Printing is the most active filer in B42D, holding 119 of the 2,774 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 B42D
Rank Company Patents in B42D
#1 Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. 119
#2 Giesecke+devrient Currency Technology Gmbh 93
#3 Sicpa Holding Sa 92
#4 DE LA RUE International Limited 68
#5 Capital ONE Services, Llc 66
#6 Viavi Solutions Inc. 54
#7 American Greetings Corporation 51
#8 OVD Kinegram Ag 44
#9 Giesecke & Devrient Gmbh 40
#10 Hallmark Cards, Incorporated 36
#11 Leonhard KURZ Stiftung & Co. KG 31
#12 Bundesdruckerei Gmbh 28
#13 ACCO Brands Corporation 27
#14 Entrust Datacard Corporation 26
#15 Crane & Co., Inc. 24
#16 Giesecke+devrient Mobile Security Gmbh 23
#17 Thales DIS France SAS 20
#18 CCL Secure Pty Ltd 20
#19 Wavefront Technology, Inc. 18
#20 Digimarc Corporation 17

About This Class

CPC subclass B42D belongs to class B42.

2,774 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 B42D 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 B42D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B42D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 010203040 050100150 Patents in B42D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Toppan PrintingGiesecke+Devrient Cur…Sicpa HoldingDe La Rue Internation…Capital One ServicesViavi SolutionsAmerican GreetingsOvd KinegramGiesecke & DevrientHallmark Cards Incorp…Leonhard Kurz Stiftun…BundesdruckereiAcco BrandsEntrust Datacard
Top 14 B42D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B42D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B42D?
CPC subclass B42D covers BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS. It belongs to CPC class B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER), with 2,774 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B42D?
2,774 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B42D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B42D?
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. leads B42D with 119 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B42D 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 B42D 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.