PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G02

G02C - Spectacles

Spectacles; sunglasses or goggles insofar as they have the same features as spectacles; contact lenses. 6,144 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

6,144
US patents granted
G02
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+41%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Spectacles ranks #231 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,144 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 41% over five years.

#231
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,144
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Essilor International
leading assignee (397)
+41%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Essilor International (397 patents)

CPC subclass G02C - SPECTACLES; SUNGLASSES OR GOGGLES INSOFAR AS THEY HAVE THE SAME FEATURES AS SPECTACLES; CONTACT LENSES - covers 6,144 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class G02 (OPTICS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in G02C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Essilor International leads with 397 patents, followed by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. at 360 grants and SNAP Inc. at 212.

Filing activity in G02C is up 41% 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 G02C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in G02C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 41% versus 2015–2019.

300400500600700 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 487

Who leads G02C?

The 12 most active assignees in SPECTACLES; SUNGLASSES OR GOGGLES INSOFAR AS THEY HAVE THE SAME FEATURES AS SPECTACLES; CONTACT LENSES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Essilor International is the most active filer in G02C, holding 397 of the 6,144 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 G02C
Rank Company Patents in G02C
#1 Essilor International 397
#2 Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. 360
#3 SNAP Inc. 212
#4 Carl Zeiss Vision International Gmbh 149
#5 Verily Life Sciences Llc 147
#6 HOYA LENS Thailand Ltd. 114
#7 Magic Leap, Inc. 109
#8 Essilor International (compagnie Generale D'optique) 109
#9 Alcon Inc. 107
#10 Tectus Corporation 100
#11 Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. 78
#12 Brien Holden Vision Institute Limited 72
#13 Novartis Ag 70
#14 Coopervision International Limited 70
#15 Shenzhen Shokz Co., Ltd. 68
#16 AMO Groningen B.v. 66
#17 Meta Platforms Technologies, Llc 59
#18 Facebook Technologies, Llc 58
#19 Oakley, Inc. 58
#20 E-vision Smart Optics, Inc. 53

About This Class

CPC subclass G02C belongs to class G02.

6,144 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 G02C 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 G02C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G02C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 G02C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G02C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 101214161820 0100200300400500 Patents in G02C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Essilor InternationalJohnson & Johnson Vis…SnapCarl Zeiss Vision Int…Verily Life SciencesHoya Lens ThailandMagic LeapEssilor International…AlconTectusMitsui ChemicalsBrien Holden Vision I…NovartisCoopervision Internat…
Top 14 G02C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G02C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class G02C?
CPC subclass G02C covers SPECTACLES; SUNGLASSES OR GOGGLES INSOFAR AS THEY HAVE THE SAME FEATURES AS SPECTACLES; CONTACT LENSES. It belongs to CPC class G02 (OPTICS), with 6,144 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in G02C?
6,144 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass G02C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in G02C?
Essilor International leads G02C with 397 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for G02C 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., G02) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like G02C 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.