CPC technology class · B66

B66C - Cranes

Cranes; load-engaging elements or devices for cranes, capstans, winches, or tackles. 3,676 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

3,676
US patents granted: #3/4
in B66: 28.8%
B66 class share: +22%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Cranes ranks #288 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,676 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 22% over five years.

#288
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,676
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Tadano
leading assignee (144): +22%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B66C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B66C recorded 1,804 grants versus 1,482 in 2015–2019 (+22% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 427 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 265 (+61% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Tadano Ltd. holds 3.9% of the class ; the top three share 8.8%.

Leaderboard read

B66C concentration, lead at 3.9%

Tadano Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 3.9% of B66C - foreign corporation assignees hold 70% of class grants (1,567 of 2,228). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 3.9%
Top three share: 8.8%
Lead over #2: 54

Where B66C sits inside B66

Among 4 subclasses in B66 (HOISTING; LIFTING; Hauling), B66C ranks #3 and holds 28.8% of the parent class's 12,745 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B66F 4,001 B66B 3,714 B66D 1,354

Rising assignees active in B66C

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 Workhorse Group Inc. 26x 2 → 52 company-wide · 17 in B66C
#2 Vita Inclinata IP Holdings LLC 10x 0 → 10 company-wide · 9 in B66C
#3 Magswitch Technology, Inc. 8.50x 2 → 17 company-wide · 10 in B66C
#4 LiftWerx Holdings Inc. 8.00x 1 → 8 company-wide · 6 in B66C
#5 Hiab AB 7.50x 2 → 15 company-wide · 14 in B66C

B66C grants by year, peak 2024 (427)

US utility-patent grants per year in B66C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 22% versus 2015–2019.

Tadano

144
Konecranes Global

90
Liebherr-werk Ehingen

88
Kobelco Construction…

81
Manitowoc Crane…

60
Liebherr-werk Biberach

59
Manitowoc Crane Group…

48
Itrec B V

46
Vestas Wind Systems…

45
Oshkosh

35
Murata Machinery

34
Liebherr-werk Nenzing

31

What this shows Tadano is the most active filer in B66C, holding 144 of the 3,676 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass B66C
Rank	Company	Patents in B66C
#1	Tadano Ltd.	144
#2	Konecranes Global Corporation	90
#3	Liebherr-werk Ehingen GMBH	88
#4	Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd	81
#5	Manitowoc Crane Companies, LLC	60
#6	Liebherr-werk Biberach GMBH	59
#7	Manitowoc Crane Group France	48
#8	Itrec B.V.	46
#9	Vestas Wind Systems A/S	45
#10	Oshkosh Corporation	35
#11	Murata Machinery, Ltd.	34
#12	Liebherr-werk Nenzing GMBH	31
#13	Liebherr-Components Biberach GmbH	30
#14	Daifuku Co., Ltd.	28
#15	Altec Industries, Inc.	25
#16	Putzmeister Engineering GmbH	24
#17	Liko Research & Development AB	22
#18	Tadano Demag GmbH	22
#19	Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Cranes Co., Ltd.	21
#20	Xuzhou Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd.	20

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B66C 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 B66C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B66C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B66C's 3,676-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B66C (#288 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.9%) - not the B66 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A47F 3,660 A45C 3,658 B66B 3,714 C09B 3,624

Nearest by lead-assignee share

E01H 3.9% G05B 3.9% B60G 3.9% B61D 3.9%

Questions about B66C

Which company holds the most patents in B66C?

Tadano Ltd. leads B66C with 144 patents (3.9% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 70% of class grants.

Which B66C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B66C, Workhorse Group Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (26x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 52 in 2022–2024) while holding 17 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B66C compare inside parent class B66?

Inside B66 (HOISTING; LIFTING; Hauling), B66C ranks #3 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 28.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B66F (4,001 grants).

What to do with this data

B66C in context - here's where to go next.

Tadano Ltd. leads B66C with 144 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B66C ranks #288 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class B66, the largest sibling subclass is B66F with 4,001 grants. Explore B66F

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

Methodology - B66C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,676 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.