CPC technology class · F03

F03C - Positive-displacement Engines Driven By Liquids

Positive-displacement engines driven by liquids. 404 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

404
US patents granted: #4/5
in F03: 3.4%
F03 class share: +9%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Positive-displacement Engines Driven By Liquids ranks #557 of 670 CPC technology areas - 404 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 9% over five years.

#557
of 670 CPC technology areas: 404
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Robert Bosch
leading assignee (49): +9%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F03C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F03C recorded 197 grants versus 180 in 2015–2019 (+9% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 52 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 24 (+117% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Poclain Hydraulics Industrie holds 6.7% of the class ; the top three share 12.1%.

Leaderboard read

F03C concentration, lead at 6.7%

Poclain Hydraulics Industrie leads this historical grant record at 6.7% of F03C - foreign corporation assignees hold 68% of class grants (124 of 183). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 6.7%
Top three share: 12.1%
Lead over #2: 14

Where F03C sits inside F03

Among 5 subclasses in F03 (Machines OR Engines FOR LIQUIDS; Wind, Spring, OR Weight MOTORS; Producing Mechanical Power OR A Reactive Propulsive Thrust, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), F03C ranks #4 and holds 3.4% of the parent class's 11,891 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F03D 7,370 F03G 2,252 F03B 1,544 F03H 321

Rising assignees active in F03C

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 Abaco Drilling Technologies LLC 2.00x 5 → 10 company-wide · 7 in F03C
#2 Danfoss Power Solutions Inc. 1.60x 10 → 16 company-wide · 6 in F03C
#3 KYB Corporation 1.31x 64 → 84 company-wide · 9 in F03C
#4 Danfoss A/S 1.17x 78 → 91 company-wide · 8 in F03C
#5 ClearMotion, Inc. 1.17x 24 → 28 company-wide · 5 in F03C

F03C grants by year, peak 2020 (52)

US utility-patent grants per year in F03C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 9% versus 2015–2019.

Poclain Hydraulics…

27
Artemis Intelligent…

13
Kyb

9
Hydro-gear Partnership

9
Danfoss Power…

9
Danfoss A/S

8
Linde Hydraulics & Kg

8
Abaco Drilling

7
Danfoss Power…

6
Smith International

5
Clearmotion

5
Hydac Drive Center

5

What this shows Robert Bosch is the most active filer in F03C, holding 49 of the 404 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 F03C
Rank	Company	Patents in F03C
#1	Poclain Hydraulics Industrie	27
#2	Artemis Intelligent Power Limited	13
#3	KYB Corporation	9
#4	Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership	9
#5	Danfoss Power Solutions GMBH & Co. OHG	9
#6	Danfoss A/S	8
#7	Linde Hydraulics GmbH & Co. KG	8
#8	Abaco Drilling Technologies LLC	7
#9	Danfoss Power Solutions Inc.	6
#10	Smith International, Inc.	5
#11	ClearMotion, Inc.	5
#12	Hydac Drive Center GMBH	5
#13	Kanzaki Kokyukoki MFG. Co., Ltd.	4
#14	Dana Motion Systems Italia S.R.L.	4
#15	Liebherr Machines Bulle SA	4
#16	Project Phoenix, LLC	4
#17	Mathers Hydraulics Technologies Pty Ltd	4
#18	Innas BV	4
#19	Norwich Technologies, Inc.	4
#20	LifeCell Corporation	3

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F03C 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 F03C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F03C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Questions about F03C

Which company holds the most patents in F03C?

Robert Bosch GmbH leads F03C with 49 patents (6.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 68% of class grants.

Which F03C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F03C, Abaco Drilling Technologies LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (2.00x: 5 grants in 2019–2021 → 10 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does F03C compare inside parent class F03?

Inside F03 (Machines OR Engines FOR LIQUIDS; Wind, Spring, OR Weight MOTORS; Producing Mechanical Power OR A Reactive Propulsive Thrust, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), F03C ranks #4 of 5 subclasses by grant volume and holds 3.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F03D (7,370 grants).

What to do with this data

F03C in context - here's where to go next.

Poclain Hydraulics Industrie leads F03C with 27 grants in this class. See full portfolio
F03C ranks #557 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class F03, the largest sibling subclass is F03D with 7,370 grants. Explore F03D

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

Methodology - F03C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (404 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.