PlainPatent

CPC technology class · D04

D04B - Knitting

Knitting. 1,864 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,864
US patents granted
D04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+66%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Knitting ranks #373 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,864 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 66% over five years.

#373
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,864
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nike
leading assignee (429)
+66%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: NIKE, Inc. (429 patents)

CPC subclass D04B - KNITTING - covers 1,864 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class D04 (BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in D04B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. NIKE, Inc. leads with 429 patents, followed by Sofradim Production at 48 grants and Adidas Ag at 41.

Filing activity in D04B is up 66% 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 D04B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in D04B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 66% versus 2015–2019.

50100150200250 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 148

Who leads D04B?

The 12 most active assignees in KNITTING - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nike is the most active filer in D04B, holding 429 of the 1,864 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 D04B
Rank Company Patents in D04B
#1 NIKE, Inc. 429
#2 Sofradim Production 48
#3 Adidas Ag 41
#4 Santoni S.p.a. 30
#5 Shima Seiki MFG., Ltd. 24
#6 Lonati S.p.a. 22
#7 Federal-mogul Powertrain Llc 19
#8 PAI LUNG Machinery MILL Co., Ltd. 18
#9 Groz-beckert KG 17
#10 HBI Branded Apparel Enterprises, Llc 16
#11 Milliken & Company 15
#12 Warrior Sports, Inc. 15
#13 BTSR International S.p.a. 13
#14 Flagship Brands, Llc 13
#15 Tietex International, Ltd. 12
#16 MEDI Gmbh & Co. KG 12
#17 Biorez, Inc. 12
#18 Myant Inc. 10
#19 Ossur Iceland EHF 9
#20 Bedgear, Llc 9

About This Class

CPC subclass D04B belongs to class D04.

1,864 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 D04B 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 D04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in D04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 D04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in D04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 -1000100200300400500 Patents in D04B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NikeSofradim ProductionadidasSantoni S P AShima Seiki MfgLonati S P AFederal-mogul Powertr…Pai Lung Machinery Mi…Groz-beckert KgHbi Branded Apparel E…Milliken &Warrior SportsBtsr International S…Flagship Brands
Top 14 D04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in D04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class D04B?
CPC subclass D04B covers KNITTING. It belongs to CPC class D04 (BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS), with 1,864 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in D04B?
1,864 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass D04B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in D04B?
NIKE, Inc. leads D04B with 429 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for D04B 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., D04) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like D04B 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.