CPC technology class · G01

G01C - Measuring Distances

Measuring distances, levels or bearings; surveying; navigation; gyroscopic instruments; photogrammetry or videogrammetry. 32,360 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

32,360
US patents granted: #4/18
in G01: 8.2%
G01 class share: +21%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Measuring Distances ranks #57 of 670 CPC technology areas - 32,360 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 21% over five years.

#57
of 670 CPC technology areas: 32,360
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Here Global B V
leading assignee (826): +21%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G01C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G01C recorded 15,931 grants versus 13,199 in 2015–2019 (+21% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2021 at 3,248 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 2,278 (+43% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Here Global B.V. holds 2.6% of the class ; the top three share 6.7%.

Leaderboard read

G01C concentration, lead at 2.6%

Here Global B.V. leads this historical grant record at 2.6% of G01C - us corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (11,037 of 20,944). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.6%
Top three share: 6.7%
Lead over #2: 111

Where G01C sits inside G01

Among 18 subclasses in G01 (MEASURING; Testing), G01C ranks #4 and holds 8.2% 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 G01B 22,043 G01J 16,402 G01M 14,845 G01V 14,307 G01D 14,112

Rising assignees active in G01C

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 Kyndryl, Inc. 478x 0 → 478 company-wide · 7 in G01C
#2 Mercedes-Benz Group AG 257x 0 → 257 company-wide · 15 in G01C
#3 Apollo Intelligent Driving Technology (BEIJING) Co., Ltd. 140x 0 → 140 company-wide · 23 in G01C
#4 NIO Technology (ANHUI) Co., Ltd 121x 0 → 121 company-wide · 10 in G01C
#5 Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. 89x 0 → 89 company-wide · 13 in G01C

G01C grants by year, peak 2021 (3,248)

US utility-patent grants per year in G01C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 21% versus 2015–2019.

Here Global B V

826
Toyota Jidosha

715
Google

642
Honeywell Internationa…

596
Apple

567
State Farm Mutual…

411
Honda Motor

394
Robert Bosch

387
Seiko Epson

386
Denso

359
Uber

314
Waymo

310

What this shows Here Global B V is the most active filer in G01C, holding 826 of the 32,360 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 G01C
Rank	Company	Patents in G01C
#1	Here Global B.V.	826
#2	Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha	715
#3	Google LLC	642
#4	Honeywell International Inc.	596
#5	Apple Inc.	567
#6	State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company	411
#7	Honda Motor Co., Ltd.	394
#8	Robert Bosch GmbH	387
#9	Seiko Epson Corporation	386
#10	Denso Corporation	359
#11	Uber Technologies, Inc.	314
#12	Waymo LLC	310
#13	Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC	268
#14	Topcon Corporation	264
#15	Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.	192
#16	Lyft, Inc.	191
#17	Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft	184
#18	Rockwell Collins, Inc.	180
#19	Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd.	174
#20	Thales	162

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G01C 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 G01C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G01C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G01C's 32,360-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G01C (#57 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.6%) - not the G01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

Y02A 32,476 C07C 32,521 C12Q 32,189 H10B 31,904

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F21V 2.6% G01F 2.6% A45F 2.6% G08B 2.6%

Questions about G01C

Which company holds the most patents in G01C?

Here Global B.V. leads G01C with 826 patents (2.6% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 53% of class grants.

Which G01C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G01C, Kyndryl, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (478x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 478 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G01C compare inside parent class G01?

Inside G01 (MEASURING; Testing), G01C ranks #4 of 18 subclasses by grant volume and holds 8.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G01N (115,972 grants).

What to do with this data

G01C in context - here's where to go next.

Here Global B.V. leads G01C with 826 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G01C ranks #57 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 - G01C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (32,360 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.