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 grant trajectory.

2,774
US patents granted
#1/5
in B42
66.7%
B42 class share
-10%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Books ranks #330 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,774 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 10% over five years.

#330
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,774
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Toppan Printing
leading assignee (119)
-10%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B42D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B42D recorded 1,155 grants versus 1,290 in 2015–2019 (-10% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 307 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 191 (+61% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. holds 4.3% of the class ; the top three share 11.0%.

Leaderboard read

B42D concentration, lead at 4.3%

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 4.3% of B42D - foreign corporation assignees hold 59% of class grants (1,029 of 1,753). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
4.3%

119 of 2,774 grants

Top three share
11.0%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
26

more grants than GIESECKE+DEVRIENT Currency Technology GMBH

Where B42D sits inside B42

Among 5 subclasses in B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; Special Printed Matter), B42D ranks #1 and holds 66.7% of the parent class's 4,157 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B42C 578 B42F 359 B42B 331 B42P 115

Rising assignees active in B42D

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. #1 Toppan Inc. 56x 0 → 56 company-wide · 9 in B42D
  2. #2 Angel Co., Ltd. 27x 6 → 161 company-wide · 5 in B42D
  3. #3 HID Global CID SAS 13x 0 → 13 company-wide · 9 in B42D
  4. #4 Korea Minting, Security Printing & Idcard Operating Corp. 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 6 in B42D
  5. #5 100 Greetings, LLC 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 5 in B42D

B42D grants by year, peak 2019 (307)

US utility-patent grants per year in B42D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 10% 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

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). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 010203040 050100150 Patents in B42D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Toppan PrintingGiesecke+Devrient…Sicpa HoldingDe La Rue Internationa…Capital One ServicesViavi SolutionsAmerican GreetingsOvd KinegramGiesecke & DevrientHallmark Cards…Leonhard Kurz…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).

Classes near B42D's 2,774-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B42D (#330 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.3%) - not the B42 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G07G 2,768 F02P 2,762 A45F 2,798 F02F 2,743

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B23P 4.3% H04L 4.3% G21K 4.3% B33Y 4.3%

Questions about B42D

Which company holds the most patents in B42D?
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. leads B42D with 119 patents (4.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 59% of class grants.
Which B42D assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B42D, Toppan Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (56x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 56 in 2022–2024) while holding 9 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does B42D compare inside parent class B42?
Inside B42 (BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; Special Printed Matter), B42D ranks #1 of 5 subclasses by grant volume and holds 66.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B42C (578 grants).

What to do with this data

B42D in context - here's where to go next.

  • Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. leads B42D with 119 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • B42D ranks #330 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class B42, the largest sibling subclass is B42C with 578 grants. Explore B42C

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - B42D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,774 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.