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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 grant trajectory.

231
US patents granted
#5/6
in G03
0.3%
G03 class share
-61%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Photosensitive Materials For Photographic Purposes ranks #593 of 670 CPC technology areas - 231 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 61% over five years.

#593
of 670 CPC technology areas
231
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Transitions Optical
leading assignee (25)
-61%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G03C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G03C recorded 60 grants versus 154 in 2015–2019 (-61% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 43 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 4 (+975% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Transitions Optical, Ltd. holds 10.8% of the class ; the top three share 15.2%.

Leaderboard read

G03C concentration, lead at 10.8%

Transitions Optical, Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 10.8% of G03C - foreign corporation assignees hold 70% of class grants (47 of 67). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
10.8%

25 of 231 grants

Top three share
15.2%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
20

more grants than AcuFocus, Inc.

Where G03C sits inside G03

Among 6 subclasses in G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; Analogous Techniques Using Waves Other Than Optical WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; Holography), G03C ranks #5 and holds 0.3% of the parent class's 73,096 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G03G 26,691 G03B 21,728 G03F 21,670 G03H 2,738 G03D 38

Rising assignees active in G03C

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. #1 Transitions Optical, Ltd. 0.96x 26 → 25 company-wide · 25 in G03C
  2. #2 AcuFocus, Inc. 0.89x 9 → 8 company-wide · 5 in G03C

G03C grants by year, peak 2015 (43)

US utility-patent grants per year in G03C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 61% 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

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). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 -100102030 Patents in G03C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Transitions OpticalAcufocusDatalaseShaanxi Normal…P V Nano CellDe La Rue Internationa…InguranIdenix PharmaceuticalsPalodex Group OyVision EaseCubicpvUniversitÀ Degli…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).

Questions about G03C

Which company holds the most patents in G03C?
Transitions Optical, Ltd. leads G03C with 25 patents (10.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 70% of class grants.
Which G03C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G03C, Transitions Optical, Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (0.96x: 26 grants in 2019–2021 → 25 in 2022–2024) while holding 25 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does G03C compare inside parent class G03?
Inside G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; Analogous Techniques Using Waves Other Than Optical WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; Holography), G03C ranks #5 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 0.3% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G03G (26,691 grants).

What to do with this data

G03C in context - here's where to go next.

  • Transitions Optical, Ltd. leads G03C with 25 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • G03C ranks #593 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class G03, the largest sibling subclass is G03G with 26,691 grants. Explore G03G

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

Methodology - G03C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (231 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.