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 filing trajectory.

21,670
US patents granted
G03
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Photomechanical Production OF Textured OR Patterned Surfaces ranks #94 of 670 CPC technology areas - 21,670 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 6% over five years.

#94
of 670 CPC technology areas
21,670
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Asml Netherlands B V
leading assignee (2,290)
-6%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: ASML Netherlands B.v. (2,290 patents)

CPC subclass G03F - PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; - covers 21,670 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 G03F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. ASML Netherlands B.v. leads with 2,290 patents, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. at 2,018 grants and Canon Kabushiki Kaisha at 1,041.

Filing activity in G03F is down 6% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is G03F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in G03F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 6% 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

About This Class

CPC subclass G03F belongs to class G03.

21,670 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 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).

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 Materia…Gigaphoton
Top 14 G03F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G03F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class G03F?
CPC subclass G03F covers PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR;. It belongs to CPC class G03 (PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY), with 21,670 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in G03F?
21,670 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass G03F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in G03F?
ASML Netherlands B.v. leads G03F with 2,290 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for G03F 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 G03F 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.