PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G03

G03C - Photosensitive Materials FOR Photographic Purposes

Photosensitive materials for photographic purposes ; photographic processes, e.g. cine, x-ray, colour, stereo-photographic processes; auxiliary processes in photography. 231 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

231
US patents granted
G03
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-56%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Photosensitive Materials FOR Photographic Purposes ranks #593 of 670 CPC technology areas - 231 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 56% over five years.

#593
of 670 CPC technology areas
231
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Transitions Optical
leading assignee (25)
-56%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Transitions Optical, Ltd. (25 patents)

CPC subclass G03C - PHOTOSENSITIVE MATERIALS FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PURPOSES ; PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES, e.g. CINE, X-RAY, COLOUR, STEREO-PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES; AUXILIARY PROCESSES IN PHOTOGRAPHY - covers 231 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 G03C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Transitions Optical, Ltd. leads with 25 patents, followed by Acufocus, Inc. at 5 grants and Datalase Ltd. at 5.

Filing activity in G03C is down 56% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is G03C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in G03C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 56% versus 2015–2019.

01020304050 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 7

Who leads G03C?

The 12 most active assignees in PHOTOSENSITIVE MATERIALS FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PURPOSES ; PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES, e.g. CINE, X-RAY, COLOUR, STEREO-PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES; AUXILIARY PROCESSES IN PHOTOGRAPHY - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Transitions Optical is the most active filer in G03C, holding 25 of the 231 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 G03C
Rank Company Patents in G03C
#1 Transitions Optical, Ltd. 25
#2 Acufocus, Inc. 5
#3 Datalase Ltd. 5
#4 Shaanxi Normal University 4
#5 P.v. Nano Cell Ltd. 4
#6 DE LA RUE International Limited 2
#7 Inguran, Llc 2
#8 Idenix Pharmaceuticals Llc 2
#9 Palodex Group Oy 2
#10 Vision Ease, Lp 2
#11 Cubicpv Inc. 2
#12 Università Degli Studi DI Cagliari 2
#13 Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. 1
#14 Qurio Holdings, Inc. 1
#15 Alphamicron Incorporated 1
#16 HEE Solar, L.l.c. 1
#17 High Performance Optics, Inc. 1
#18 National Institute Of Advanced Industrial Science 1
#19 SDC Technologies, Inc. 1
#20 Miraclon Corporation 1

About This Class

CPC subclass G03C belongs to class G03.

231 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 G03C 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 G03C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 G03C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 -100102030 Patents in G03C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Transitions OpticalAcufocusDatalaseShaanxi Normal Univer…P V Nano CellDe La Rue Internation…InguranIdenix PharmaceuticalsPalodex Group OyVision EaseCubicpvUniversitÀ Degli Stud…Ichikoh IndustriesQurio Holdings
Top 14 G03C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class G03C?
CPC subclass G03C covers PHOTOSENSITIVE MATERIALS FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PURPOSES ; PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES, e.g. CINE, X-RAY, COLOUR, STEREO-PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES; AUXILIARY PROCESSES IN PHOTOGRAPHY. It belongs to CPC class G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY), with 231 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in G03C?
231 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass G03C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in G03C?
Transitions Optical, Ltd. leads G03C with 25 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for G03C 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 G03C 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.