PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G03

G03F - Photomechanical Production Of Textured Or Patterned Surfaces

Photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. for printing, for processing of semiconductor devices; materials therefor; originals therefor; apparatus specially adapted therefor;. 21,670 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

21,670
US patents granted
#3/6
in G03
29.6%
G03 class share
-18%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Photomechanical Production Of Textured Or Patterned Surfaces ranks #94 of 670 CPC technology areas - 21,670 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 18% over five years.

#94
of 670 CPC technology areas
21,670
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Asml Netherlands B V
leading assignee (2,290)
-18%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G03F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G03F recorded 8,697 grants versus 10,593 in 2015–2019 (-18% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 2,242 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 1,583 (+42% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Asml Netherlands B.V. holds 10.6% of the class ; the top three share 24.7%.

Leaderboard read

G03F concentration, lead at 10.6%

Asml Netherlands B.V. leads this historical grant record at 10.6% of G03F - foreign corporation assignees hold 84% of class grants (13,984 of 16,675). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
10.6%

2,290 of 21,670 grants

Top three share
24.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
272

more grants than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.

Where G03F sits inside G03

Among 6 subclasses in G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; Analogous Techniques Using Waves Other Than Optical WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; Holography), G03F ranks #3 and holds 29.6% 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 G03H 2,738 G03C 231 G03D 38

Rising assignees active in G03F

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 Changxin Memory Technologies, Inc. 63x 17 → 1,066 company-wide · 63 in G03F
  2. #2 Tsmc Nanjing Company, Limited 21x 3 → 62 company-wide · 5 in G03F
  3. #3 Auros Technology, Inc. 19x 0 → 19 company-wide · 13 in G03F
  4. #4 Nova Ltd. 18x 2 → 36 company-wide · 22 in G03F
  5. #5 Kioxia Corporation 11x 180 → 2,031 company-wide · 79 in G03F

G03F grants by year, peak 2015 (2,242)

US utility-patent grants per year in G03F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 18% versus 2015–2019.

1,0001,5002,0002,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,299

Who leads G03F?

The 12 most active assignees in Photomechanical Production OF Textured OR Patterned Surfaces, e.g. FOR Printing, FOR Processing OF Semiconductor DEVICES; Materials THEREFOR; Originals THEREFOR; Apparatus Specially Adapted THEREFOR; - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Asml Netherlands B V is the most active filer in G03F, holding 2,290 of the 21,670 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 G03F
Rank Company Patents in G03F
#1 Asml Netherlands B.V. 2,290
#2 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. 2,018
#3 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha 1,041
#4 Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH 919
#5 Nikon Corporation 674
#6 Shin-etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. 665
#7 Fujifilm Corporation 593
#8 Tokyo Electron Limited 451
#9 Applied Materials, Inc. 388
#10 Kla-tencor Corporation 379
#11 BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. 358
#12 Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. 274
#13 Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials LLC 225
#14 Gigaphoton Inc. 219
#15 KLA Corporation 198
#16 Asml Holding N.V. 198
#17 JSR Corporation 190
#18 Hoya Corporation 178
#19 GlobalFoundries Inc. 169
#20 Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited 145

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G03F 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 G03F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 05001000150020002500 Patents in G03F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Asml Netherlands B VTaiwan Semiconductor…CanonCarl Zeiss SmtNikonShin-etsu ChemicalFujifilmTokyo ElectronApplied MaterialsKla-tencorBoe Technology GroupTokyo Ohka KogyoRohm and Haas…Gigaphoton
Top 14 G03F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G03F's 21,670-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G03F (#94 of 670 by volume ; lead share 10.6%) - not the G03 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H01F 21,711 G03B 21,728 B25J 21,590 G11B 21,500

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G04F 10.6% B64G 10.6% G02F 10.7% F02M 10.4%

Questions about G03F

Which company holds the most patents in G03F?
Asml Netherlands B.V. leads G03F with 2,290 patents (10.6% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 84% of class grants.
Which G03F assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G03F, Changxin Memory Technologies, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (63x: 17 grants in 2019–2021 → 1,066 in 2022–2024) while holding 63 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does G03F compare inside parent class G03?
Inside G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; Analogous Techniques Using Waves Other Than Optical WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; Holography), G03F ranks #3 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 29.6% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G03G (26,691 grants).

What to do with this data

G03F in context - here's where to go next.

  • Asml Netherlands B.V. leads G03F with 2,290 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • G03F ranks #94 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 - G03F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (21,670 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.