PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B43

B43K - Implements FOR Writing OR Drawing

Implements for writing or drawing. 784 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

784
US patents granted
B43
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+27%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Implements FOR Writing OR Drawing ranks #483 of 670 CPC technology areas - 784 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 27% over five years.

#483
of 670 CPC technology areas
784
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Mitsubishi Pencil
leading assignee (71)
+27%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited (71 patents)

CPC subclass B43K - IMPLEMENTS FOR WRITING OR DRAWING - covers 784 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B43 (WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B43K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited leads with 71 patents, followed by Société BIC at 58 grants and Societe BIC at 43.

Filing activity in B43K is up 27% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B43K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B43K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 27% versus 2015–2019.

5060708090 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 58

Who leads B43K?

The 12 most active assignees in IMPLEMENTS FOR WRITING OR DRAWING - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Mitsubishi Pencil is the most active filer in B43K, holding 71 of the 784 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 B43K
Rank Company Patents in B43K
#1 Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited 71
#2 Société BIC 58
#3 Societe BIC 43
#4 Kabushiki Kaisha Pilot Corporation 43
#5 Crayola Llc 31
#6 Wacom Co., Ltd. 22
#7 Sanford L.p. 22
#8 BIC Violex Single Member S.a. 17
#9 Kotobuki & Co., Ltd. 14
#10 Tokiwa Corporation 12
#11 THE Pilot INK Company, Limited 12
#12 Staedtler MARS Gmbh & Co. KG 9
#13 Faber-castell Ag 9
#14 Zebra Co., Ltd. 9
#15 Kuretake Co., Ltd. 8
#16 Dong-a Pencil Co., Ltd. 7
#17 Montblanc-simplo Gmbh 5
#18 SDI Corporation 5
#19 Schwan-stabilo Cosmetic Gmbh & Co. KG 5
#20 Flocon, Inc. 5

About This Class

CPC subclass B43K belongs to class B43.

784 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 B43K 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 B43K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B43K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B43K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B43K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 05101520 020406080 Patents in B43K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Mitsubishi PencilSociÉTÉ BicSociete BicPilotCrayolaWacomSanfordBic Violex Single Mem…Kotobuki &TokiwaThe Pilot InkStaedtler Mars & KgFaber-castellZebra
Top 14 B43K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B43K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B43K?
CPC subclass B43K covers IMPLEMENTS FOR WRITING OR DRAWING. It belongs to CPC class B43 (WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES), with 784 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B43K?
784 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B43K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B43K?
Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited leads B43K with 71 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B43K 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., B43) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B43K 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.