CPC technology class · F21

F21W - Indexing Scheme Associated WITH Subclasses F21K

Indexing scheme associated with subclasses f21k, f21l, f21s and f21v, relating to uses or applications of lighting devices or systems. 6,556 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

6,556
US patents granted: F21
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +40%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Indexing Scheme Associated WITH Subclasses F21K ranks #218 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,556 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 40% over five years.

#218
of 670 CPC technology areas: 6,556
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Koito Manufacturing
leading assignee (157): +40%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (157 patents)

CPC subclass F21W - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS - covers 6,556 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F21 (LIGHTING). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F21W is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. leads with 157 patents, followed by Valeo Vision at 124 grants and Signify Holding B.v. at 106.

Filing activity in F21W is up 40% 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 F21W innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F21W, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 40% versus 2015–2019.

Koito Manufacturing

157
Valeo Vision

124
Signify Holding B V

106
Hyundai Mobis

87
Stanley Electric

75
Willis Electric

70
Cree

68
Guangzhou Haoyang

68
Robe lighting s r o

67
Sl

58
Hasco Vision Technolo…

55
Zkw Group

54

What this shows Koito Manufacturing is the most active filer in F21W, holding 157 of the 6,556 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 F21W
Rank	Company	Patents in F21W
#1	Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	157
#2	Valeo Vision	124
#3	Signify Holding B.v.	106
#4	Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.	87
#5	Stanley Electric Co., Ltd.	75
#6	Willis Electric Co., Ltd.	70
#7	Cree, Inc.	68
#8	Guangzhou Haoyang Electronic Co., Ltd.	68
#9	ROBE Lighting S.r.o.	67
#10	SL Corporation	58
#11	Hasco Vision Technology Co., Ltd.	55
#12	ZKW Group Gmbh	54
#13	Ichikoh Industries, Ltd.	54
#14	Cooper Technologies Company	52
#15	Hella Gmbh & Co. Kgaa	52
#16	L&L Candle Company, Llc	49
#17	Hubbell Incorporated	45
#18	Philips Lighting Holding B.v.	43
#19	Lumileds Llc	41
#20	Osram Gmbh	40

About This Class

CPC subclass F21W belongs to class F21.

6,556 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 F21W 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 F21W assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21W. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F21W?

CPC subclass F21W covers INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS. It belongs to CPC class F21 (LIGHTING), with 6,556 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in F21W?

6,556 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F21W between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in F21W?

Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. leads F21W with 157 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for F21W 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., F21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F21W 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.