CPC technology class · G02

G02B - Optical Elements

Optical elements, systems or apparatus. 115,576 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

115,576
US patents granted: #1/3
in G02: 66.2%
G02 class share: +11%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Optical Elements ranks #13 of 670 CPC technology areas - 115,576 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 11% over five years.

#13
of 670 CPC technology areas: 115,576
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Samsung
leading assignee (4,608): +11%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G02B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G02B recorded 54,152 grants versus 48,586 in 2015–2019 (+11% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 12,226 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 7,986 (+53% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. holds 4.0% of the class ; the top three share 8.1%.

Leaderboard read

G02B concentration, lead at 4.0%

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 4.0% of G02B - foreign corporation assignees hold 66% of class grants (65,908 of 100,526). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 4.0%
Top three share: 8.1%
Lead over #2: 2,083

Where G02B sits inside G02

Among 3 subclasses in G02 (Optics), G02B ranks #1 and holds 66.2% of the parent class's 174,596 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G02F 52,876 G02C 6,144

Rising assignees active in G02B

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 Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC 1285x 0 → 1,285 company-wide · 766 in G02B
#2 Kyndryl, Inc. 478x 0 → 478 company-wide · 8 in G02B
#3 Meta Platforms, Inc. 376x 2 → 751 company-wide · 39 in G02B
#4 Beijing Zitiao Network Technology Co., Ltd. 203x 0 → 203 company-wide · 6 in G02B
#5 Sharp Display Technology Corporation 144x 0 → 144 company-wide · 25 in G02B

G02B grants by year, peak 2020 (12,226)

US utility-patent grants per year in G02B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 11% versus 2015–2019.

Samsung

4,608
Canon

2,525
Fujifilm

2,173
Boe Technology Group

1,899
Olympus

1,893
Sony Group

1,572
Apple

1,367
Seiko Epson

1,332
Lg Innotek

1,183
Microsoft Technology…

1,164
Magic Leap

1,145
Commscope

1,090

What this shows Samsung is the most active filer in G02B, holding 4,608 of the 115,576 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 G02B
Rank	Company	Patents in G02B
#1	Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.	4,608
#2	Canon Kabushiki Kaisha	2,525
#3	Fujifilm Corporation	2,173
#4	BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.	1,899
#5	Olympus Corporation	1,893
#6	Sony Group Corporation	1,572
#7	Apple Inc.	1,367
#8	Seiko Epson Corporation	1,332
#9	LG Innotek Co., Ltd.	1,183
#10	Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC	1,164
#11	Magic Leap, Inc.	1,145
#12	Commscope Technologies LLC	1,090
#13	Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.	1,054
#14	Facebook Technologies, LLC	1,026
#15	Largan Precision Co., Ltd.	1,018
#16	3M Innovative Properties Company	991
#17	Nikon Corporation	777
#18	Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC	766
#19	Google LLC	746
#20	Corning Incorporated	698

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G02B 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 G02B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G02B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G02B's 115,576-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G02B (#13 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.0%) - not the G02 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G01N 115,972 Y02E 125,003 A61P 125,535 H04B 101,407

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G05G 4.0% G21G 4.0% F41G 4.0% F05C 4.0%

Questions about G02B

Which company holds the most patents in G02B?

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. leads G02B with 4,608 patents (4.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 66% of class grants.

Which G02B assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G02B, Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (1285x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 1,285 in 2022–2024) while holding 766 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G02B compare inside parent class G02?

Inside G02 (Optics), G02B ranks #1 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 66.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G02F (52,876 grants).

What to do with this data

G02B in context - here's where to go next.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. leads G02B with 4,608 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G02B ranks #13 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class G02, the largest sibling subclass is G02F with 52,876 grants. Explore G02F

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

Methodology - G02B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (115,576 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.