CPC technology class · C03

C03B - Manufacture

Manufacture, shaping, or supplementary processes. 4,651 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

4,651
US patents granted: #2/2
in C03: 34.1%
C03 class share: -6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Manufacture ranks #256 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,651 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 6% over five years.

#256
of 670 CPC technology areas: 4,651
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Corning Incorporated
leading assignee (1,040): -6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How tightly C03B concentrates

Corning Incorporated holds 22.4% of C03B's recorded grants (1,040 of 4,651) - 869 more than Schott AG. Across complete PatentsView years, the class peaked in 2017 at 478 grants and bottomed in 2021 at 365 (+31% peak-over-trough). Equal-window velocity 2020–2024 vs 2015–2019: -6% (2,013 vs 2,140 grants).

Leaderboard read

C03B concentration, lead at 22.4%

Corning Incorporated leads this historical grant record at 22.4% of C03B - us corporation assignees hold 51% of class grants (1,631 of 3,190). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 22.4%
Top three share: 29.1%
Lead over #2: 869

Where C03B sits inside C03

Among 2 subclasses in C03 (GLASS; Mineral OR Slag Wool), C03B ranks #2 and holds 34.1% of the parent class's 13,637 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C03C 8,986

Rising assignees active in C03B

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 Schott Pharma Schweiz AG 33x 0 → 33 company-wide · 11 in C03B
#2 Schott Pharma AG & Co. Kgaa 16x 0 → 16 company-wide · 7 in C03B
#3 Tunghsu Technology Group Co., Ltd. 10x 0 → 10 company-wide · 7 in C03B
#4 Docter Optics SE 7.00x 2 → 14 company-wide · 12 in C03B
#5 Tunghsu Group Co., Ltd. 7.00x 2 → 14 company-wide · 9 in C03B

C03B grants by year, peak 2017 (478)

US utility-patent grants per year in C03B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 6% versus 2015–2019.

Corning Incorporated

1,040
Schott

171
Nippon Electric Glass

143
Owens-brockway Glass…

116
Heraeus Quarzglas & Kg

104
Agc

82
Saint-gobain Glass…

79
Johns Manville

69
Fujikura

56
Ivoclar Vivadent

40
Saint-gobain Isover

38
Sumco

35

What this shows Corning Incorporated is the most active filer in C03B, holding 1,040 of the 4,651 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 C03B
Rank	Company	Patents in C03B
#1	Corning Incorporated	1,040
#2	Schott AG	171
#3	Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd.	143
#4	Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc.	116
#5	Heraeus Quarzglas GMBH & Co. KG	104
#6	AGC Inc.	82
#7	Saint-gobain Glass France	79
#8	Johns Manville	69
#9	Fujikura Ltd.	56
#10	Ivoclar Vivadent AG	40
#11	Saint-gobain Isover	38
#12	Sumco Corporation	35
#13	Glasstech, Inc.	35
#14	Hoya Corporation	34
#15	Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.	34
#16	Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.	30
#17	OFS Fitel, LLC	27
#18	Draka Comteq B.V.	27
#19	Saint-gobain Centre DE Recherches ET D'etudes Europeen	24
#20	NKT Photonics A/S	22

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C03B 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 C03B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C03B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C03B's 4,651-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C03B (#256 of 670 by volume ; lead share 22.4%) - not the C03 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A47G 4,697 A45D 4,762 E05D 4,538 A01B 4,498

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A24D 22.5% B64F 22.7% D04B 23.0% B62M 23.7%

Questions about C03B

Which company holds the most patents in C03B?

Corning Incorporated leads C03B with 1,040 patents (22.4% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 51% of class grants.

Which C03B assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C03B, Schott Pharma Schweiz AG shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (33x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 33 in 2022–2024) while holding 11 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does C03B compare inside parent class C03?

Inside C03 (GLASS; Mineral OR Slag Wool), C03B ranks #2 of 2 subclasses by grant volume and holds 34.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C03C (8,986 grants).

What to do with this data

C03B in context - here's where to go next.

Corning Incorporated leads C03B with 1,040 grants in this class. See full portfolio
C03B ranks #256 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class C03, the largest sibling subclass is C03C with 8,986 grants. Explore C03C

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

Methodology - C03B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (4,651 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.