PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F21

F21Y - Indexing Scheme Associated WITH Subclasses F21K

Indexing scheme associated with subclasses f21k, f21l, f21s and f21v, relating to the form or the kind of the light sources or of the colour of the light emitted. 17,865 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

17,865
US patents granted
F21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Indexing Scheme Associated WITH Subclasses F21K ranks #106 of 670 CPC technology areas - 17,865 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 5% over five years.

#106
of 670 CPC technology areas
17,865
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Signify Holding B V
leading assignee (557)
+5%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Signify Holding B.v. (557 patents)

CPC subclass F21Y - INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED - covers 17,865 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 F21Y is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Signify Holding B.v. leads with 557 patents, followed by Cree, Inc. at 352 grants and LG Innotek Co., Ltd. at 327.

Filing activity in F21Y is up 5% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F21Y innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F21Y, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 5% versus 2015–2019.

5001,0001,5002,0002,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 885

Who leads F21Y?

The 12 most active assignees in INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Signify Holding B V is the most active filer in F21Y, holding 557 of the 17,865 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 F21Y
Rank Company Patents in F21Y
#1 Signify Holding B.v. 557
#2 Cree, Inc. 352
#3 LG Innotek Co., Ltd. 327
#4 Nichia Corporation 282
#5 Osram Gmbh 247
#6 Lumileds Llc 225
#7 Philips Lighting Holding B.v. 221
#8 Jiaxing Super Lighting Electric Appliance Co., Ltd 207
#9 ABL IP Holding Llc 194
#10 Xiamen ECO Lighting Co. Ltd. 193
#11 Cooper Technologies Company 171
#12 Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 161
#13 Ledvance Gmbh 157
#14 Hubbell Incorporated 152
#15 Valeo Vision 147
#16 Ideal Industries Lighting Llc 120
#17 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited 119
#18 Opple Lighting Co., Ltd. 113
#19 FEIT Electric Company, Inc. 107
#20 Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation 97

About This Class

CPC subclass F21Y belongs to class F21.

17,865 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 F21Y 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 F21Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F21Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 100200300400500600 Patents in F21Y Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Signify Holding B VCreeLg InnotekNichiaOsramLumiledsPhilips Lighting Hold…Jiaxing Super Lightin…Abl Ip HoldingXiamen Eco LightingCooperKoito ManufacturingLedvanceHubbell Incorporated
Top 14 F21Y assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21Y. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F21Y?
CPC subclass F21Y covers INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED. It belongs to CPC class F21 (LIGHTING), with 17,865 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F21Y?
17,865 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F21Y between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F21Y?
Signify Holding B.v. leads F21Y with 557 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F21Y 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 F21Y 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.