CPC technology class · G04

G04B - Mechanically-driven Clocks Or Watches

Mechanically-driven clocks or watches; mechanical parts of clocks or watches in general; time pieces using the position of the sun, moon or stars. 2,356 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

2,356
US patents granted: #2/6
in G04: 28.8%
G04 class share: +7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Mechanically-driven Clocks Or Watches ranks #351 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,356 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 7% over five years.

#351
of 670 CPC technology areas: 2,356
US patents granted, 2015–2025: The Swatch Group Research…
leading assignee (307): +7%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G04B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G04B recorded 1,122 grants versus 1,044 in 2015–2019 (+7% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 278 grants and bottomed in 2020 at 182 (+53% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd holds 13.0% of the class ; the top three share 29.0%.

Leaderboard read

G04B concentration, lead at 13.0%

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd leads this historical grant record at 13.0% of G04B - foreign corporation assignees hold 97% of class grants (1,609 of 1,666). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 13.0%
Top three share: 29.0%
Lead over #2: 76

Where G04B sits inside G04

Among 6 subclasses in G04 (Horology), G04B ranks #2 and holds 28.8% of the parent class's 8,190 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G04G 2,450 G04F 1,418 G04C 1,040 G04R 623 G04D 303

Rising assignees active in G04B

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 Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet SA 16x 0 → 16 company-wide · 17 in G04B
#2 Harry Winston SA 3.83x 115 → 440 company-wide · 13 in G04B
#3 Comadur SA 3.33x 6 → 20 company-wide · 27 in G04B
#4 Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH 2.67x 3 → 8 company-wide · 11 in G04B
#5 Blancpain SA 2.09x 11 → 23 company-wide · 66 in G04B

G04B grants by year, peak 2024 (278)

US utility-patent grants per year in G04B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 7% versus 2015–2019.

The Swatch Group…

307
Eta Manufacture…

231
Nivarox-far

146
Montres Breguet

140
Rolex

131
Casio Computer

106
Omega

96
Blancpain

66
Seiko Instruments

42
Citizen Watch

31
Comadur

27
Patek Philippe Geneve

26

What this shows The Swatch Group… is the most active filer in G04B, holding 307 of the 2,356 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass G04B
Rank	Company	Patents in G04B
#1	The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd	307
#2	ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse	231
#3	Nivarox-FAR S.A.	146
#4	Montres Breguet S.A.	140
#5	Rolex SA	131
#6	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.	106
#7	Omega SA	96
#8	Blancpain SA	66
#9	Seiko Instruments Inc.	42
#10	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.	31
#11	Comadur SA	27
#12	Patek Philippe SA Geneve	26
#13	Meco SA	20
#14	Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet SA	17
#15	Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique ET DE Microtechnique SA—RECHERCHE ET DÉVELOPPEMENT	16
#16	Preciflex SA	14
#17	Harry Winston SA	13
#18	Lvmh Swiss Manufactures SA	13
#19	Timex Group USA, Inc.	13
#20	Montres Jaquet Droz SA	13

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G04B 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 G04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G04B's 2,356-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G04B (#351 of 670 by volume ; lead share 13.0%) - not the G04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C01F 2,333 B23C 2,322 B30B 2,314 E04D 2,409

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F02D 13.1% B27G 13.1% B64C 13.2% A46D 12.8%

Questions about G04B

Which company holds the most patents in G04B?

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd leads G04B with 307 patents (13.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 97% of class grants.

Which G04B assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G04B, Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet SA shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (16x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 16 in 2022–2024) while holding 17 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G04B compare inside parent class G04?

Inside G04 (Horology), G04B ranks #2 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 28.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G04G (2,450 grants).

What to do with this data

G04B in context - here's where to go next.

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd leads G04B with 307 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G04B ranks #351 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class G04, the largest sibling subclass is G04G with 2,450 grants. Explore G04G

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

Methodology - G04B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,356 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.