CPC technology class · E04

E04C - Structural Elements

Structural elements; building materials. 3,792 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

3,792
US patents granted: #4/6
in E04: 13.4%
E04 class share: +2%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Structural Elements ranks #280 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,792 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 2% over five years.

#280
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,792
US patents granted, 2015–2025: United States Gypsum
leading assignee (65): +2%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How E04C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, E04C recorded 1,753 grants versus 1,719 in 2015–2019 (+2% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 420 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 288 (+46% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee United States Gypsum Company holds 1.7% of the class ; the top three share 3.8%.

Leaderboard read

E04C concentration, lead at 1.7%

United States Gypsum Company leads this historical grant record at 1.7% of E04C - us corporation assignees hold 63% of class grants (1,212 of 1,916). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 1.7%
Top three share: 3.8%
Lead over #2: 23

Where E04C sits inside E04

Among 6 subclasses in E04 (Building), E04C ranks #4 and holds 13.4% of the parent class's 28,319 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

E04B 7,959 E04H 6,263 E04F 5,179 E04G 2,717 E04D 2,409

Rising assignees active in E04C

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 VÄLINGE Innovation AB 47x 0 → 47 company-wide · 11 in E04C
#2 Gold Bond Building Products, LLC 25x 1 → 25 company-wide · 15 in E04C
#3 Rockwool A/S 21x 0 → 21 company-wide · 5 in E04C
#4 House of Design LLC 14x 1 → 14 company-wide · 8 in E04C
#5 A&C Future Inc. 10x 0 → 10 company-wide · 7 in E04C

E04C grants by year, peak 2020 (420)

US utility-patent grants per year in E04C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 2% versus 2015–2019.

United States Gypsum

65
Valinge Innovation Ab

42
Georgia-pacific Gypsum

36
Johns Manville

31
Certainteed Gypsum

30
Awi Licensing

28
Ceraloc Innovation Ab

25
Keystone Retaining…

25
Nucor

24
Certainteed

23
Anchor Wall Systems

23
King Saud University

22

What this shows United States Gypsum is the most active filer in E04C, holding 65 of the 3,792 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 E04C
Rank	Company	Patents in E04C
#1	United States Gypsum Company	65
#2	Valinge Innovation AB	42
#3	Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC	36
#4	Johns Manville	31
#5	CertainTeed Gypsum, Inc.	30
#6	AWI Licensing LLC	28
#7	Ceraloc Innovation AB	25
#8	Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, LLC	25
#9	Nucor Corporation	24
#10	CertainTeed LLC	23
#11	Anchor Wall Systems, Inc.	23
#12	King Saud University	22
#13	Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc.	22
#14	Huber Engineered Woods LLC	21
#15	Flooring Industies Limited, Sarl	20
#16	Cetres Holdings, LLC	20
#17	Knauf Gips KG	19
#18	California Expanded Metal Products Company	17
#19	Covestro LLC	16
#20	Gold Bond Building Products, LLC	15

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading E04C 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 E04C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in E04C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near E04C's 3,792-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for E04C (#280 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.7%) - not the E04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H02N 3,799 G16Z 3,767 A01C 3,761 B26D 3,757

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A23B 1.7% F16M 1.7% B09C 1.7% B05B 1.7%

Questions about E04C

Which company holds the most patents in E04C?

United States Gypsum Company leads E04C with 65 patents (1.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 63% of class grants.

Which E04C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in E04C, VÄLINGE Innovation AB shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (47x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 47 in 2022–2024) while holding 11 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does E04C compare inside parent class E04?

Inside E04 (Building), E04C ranks #4 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 13.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is E04B (7,959 grants).

What to do with this data

E04C in context - here's where to go next.

United States Gypsum Company leads E04C with 65 grants in this class. See full portfolio
E04C ranks #280 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class E04, the largest sibling subclass is E04B with 7,959 grants. Explore E04B

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

Methodology - E04C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,792 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.