CPC technology class · G01

G01B - Measuring Length

Measuring length, thickness or similar linear dimensions; measuring angles; measuring areas; measuring irregularities of surfaces or contours. 22,043 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

22,043
US patents granted: #5/18
in G01: 5.6%
G01 class share: +5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Measuring Length ranks #90 of 670 CPC technology areas - 22,043 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 5% over five years.

#90
of 670 CPC technology areas: 22,043
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Mitutoyo
leading assignee (434): +5%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G01B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G01B recorded 10,176 grants versus 9,692 in 2015–2019 (+5% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 2,470 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 1,536 (+61% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Mitutoyo Corporation holds 2.0% of the class ; the top three share 4.2%.

Leaderboard read

G01B concentration, lead at 2.0%

Mitutoyo Corporation leads this historical grant record at 2.0% of G01B - foreign corporation assignees hold 60% of class grants (5,990 of 10,012). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.0%
Top three share: 4.2%
Lead over #2: 172

Where G01B sits inside G01

Among 18 subclasses in G01 (MEASURING; Testing), G01B ranks #5 and holds 5.6% of the parent class's 393,430 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G01N 115,972 G01R 53,716 G01S 52,756 G01C 32,360 G01J 16,402 G01M 14,845 G01V 14,307 G01D 14,112

Rising assignees active in G01B

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 LG Energy Solution, Ltd. 770x 2 → 1,539 company-wide · 28 in G01B
#2 Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. 144x 0 → 144 company-wide · 10 in G01B
#3 Contemporary Amperex Technology (HONG KONG) Limited 87x 0 → 87 company-wide · 6 in G01B
#4 Changxin Memory Technologies, Inc. 63x 17 → 1,066 company-wide · 13 in G01B
#5 MLOptic Corp. 34x 0 → 34 company-wide · 11 in G01B

G01B grants by year, peak 2019 (2,470)

US utility-patent grants per year in G01B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 5% versus 2015–2019.

Mitutoyo

434
Faro

262
Kla-tencor

230
Asml Netherlands B V

209
Nikon

152
Carl Zeiss Industriell…

145
Applied Materials

130
Halliburton Energy…

103
Omron

102
Keyence

98
Dr Johannes Heidenhain

95
Hexagon Technology…

93

What this shows Mitutoyo is the most active filer in G01B, holding 434 of the 22,043 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 G01B
Rank	Company	Patents in G01B
#1	Mitutoyo Corporation	434
#2	Faro Technologies, Inc.	262
#3	Kla-tencor Corporation	230
#4	Asml Netherlands B.V.	209
#5	Nikon Corporation	152
#6	Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH	145
#7	Applied Materials, Inc.	130
#8	Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.	103
#9	Omron Corporation	102
#10	Keyence Corporation	98
#11	DR. Johannes Heidenhain GMBH	95
#12	Hexagon Technology Center GMBH	93
#13	KLA Corporation	92
#14	Align Technology, Inc.	89
#15	Renishaw PLC	88
#16	Olympus Corporation	87
#17	Topcon Corporation	86
#18	Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation	81
#19	Carl Zeiss Meditec AG	75
#20	Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation	74

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G01B 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 G01B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G01B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G01B's 22,043-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G01B (#90 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.0%) - not the G01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B64D 21,967 G03B 21,728 H01F 21,711 G03F 21,670

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F27B 2.0% G01M 2.0% C12N 1.9% C07C 2.0%

Questions about G01B

Which company holds the most patents in G01B?

Mitutoyo Corporation leads G01B with 434 patents (2.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 60% of class grants.

Which G01B assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G01B, LG Energy Solution, Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (770x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 1,539 in 2022–2024) while holding 28 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G01B compare inside parent class G01?

Inside G01 (MEASURING; Testing), G01B ranks #5 of 18 subclasses by grant volume and holds 5.6% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G01N (115,972 grants).

What to do with this data

G01B in context - here's where to go next.

Mitutoyo Corporation leads G01B with 434 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G01B ranks #90 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class G01, the largest sibling subclass is G01N with 115,972 grants. Explore G01N

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

Methodology - G01B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (22,043 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.