PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G03

G03B - Apparatus OR Arrangements FOR Taking Photographs OR FOR P…

Apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs or for projecting or viewing them; apparatus or arrangements employing analogous techniques using waves other than optical waves; accessories therefor. 21,728 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

21,728
US patents granted
G03
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+25%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Apparatus OR Arrangements FOR Taking Photographs OR FOR P… ranks #92 of 670 CPC technology areas - 21,728 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 25% over five years.

#92
of 670 CPC technology areas
21,728
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Canon
leading assignee (1,705)
+25%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (1,705 patents)

CPC subclass G03B - APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR - covers 21,728 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in G03B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads with 1,705 patents, followed by Seiko Epson Corporation at 1,103 grants and SONY Group Corporation at 981.

Filing activity in G03B is up 25% 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 G03B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in G03B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 25% versus 2015–2019.

1,0001,5002,0002,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,394

Who leads G03B?

The 12 most active assignees in APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Canon is the most active filer in G03B, holding 1,705 of the 21,728 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 G03B
Rank Company Patents in G03B
#1 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha 1,705
#2 Seiko Epson Corporation 1,103
#3 SONY Group Corporation 981
#4 Fujifilm Corporation 874
#5 LG Innotek Co., Ltd. 734
#6 Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. 657
#7 Coretronic Corporation 511
#8 TDK Taiwan Corp. 375
#9 Ricoh Company, Ltd. 329
#10 Nikon Corporation 303
#11 Olympus Corporation 284
#12 Gopro, Inc. 251
#13 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. 185
#14 SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. 165
#15 Appotronics Corporation Limited 155
#16 Maxell, Ltd. 133
#17 SONY Semiconductor Solutions Corporation 126
#18 Corephotonics Ltd. 126
#19 Delta Electronics, Inc. 120
#20 NEC Display Solutions, Ltd. 103

About This Class

CPC subclass G03B belongs to class G03.

21,728 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 G03B 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 G03B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 G03B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 0500100015002000 Patents in G03B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) CanonSeiko EpsonSony GroupFujifilmLg InnotekPanasonic Intellectua…CoretronicTdk TaiwanRicohNikonOlympusGoproCasio ComputerSz Dji Technology
Top 14 G03B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class G03B?
CPC subclass G03B covers APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR. It belongs to CPC class G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY), with 21,728 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in G03B?
21,728 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass G03B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in G03B?
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha leads G03B with 1,705 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for G03B 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., G03) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like G03B 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.