CPC technology class · G04

G04C - Electromechanical Clocks Or Watches

Electromechanical clocks or watches. 1,040 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

1,040
US patents granted: #4/6
in G04: 12.7%
G04 class share: +1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Electromechanical Clocks Or Watches ranks #456 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,040 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 1% over five years.

#456
of 670 CPC technology areas: 1,040
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Seiko Epson
leading assignee (147): +1%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G04C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G04C recorded 492 grants versus 485 in 2015–2019 (+1% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 120 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 71 (+69% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd holds 11.7% of the class ; the top three share 31.1%.

Leaderboard read

G04C concentration, lead at 11.7%

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd leads this historical grant record at 11.7% of G04C - foreign corporation assignees hold 94% of class grants (490 of 522). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 11.7%
Top three share: 31.1%
Lead over #2: 14

Where G04C sits inside G04

Among 6 subclasses in G04 (Horology), G04C ranks #4 and holds 12.7% 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 G04B 2,356 G04F 1,418 G04R 623 G04D 303

Rising assignees active in G04C

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 ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse 1.60x 58 → 93 company-wide · 93 in G04C
#2 The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd 1.35x 130 → 175 company-wide · 122 in G04C
#3 Nivarox-FAR S.A. 1.26x 35 → 44 company-wide · 6 in G04C
#4 Montres Breguet S.A. 0.91x 53 → 48 company-wide · 16 in G04C
#5 Timex Group USA, Inc. 0.80x 5 → 4 company-wide · 8 in G04C

G04C grants by year, peak 2019 (120)

US utility-patent grants per year in G04C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 1% versus 2015–2019.

The Swatch Group…

122
Casio Computer

108
Eta Manufacture…

93
Seiko Instruments

45
Citizen Watch

36
Montres Breguet

16
Garmin Switzerland

9
Timex Group Usa

8
Nivarox-far

6
J J Mackay Canada

6
Sii Crystal Technology

5
Harry Winston

4

What this shows Seiko Epson is the most active filer in G04C, holding 147 of the 1,040 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 G04C
Rank	Company	Patents in G04C
#1	The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd	122
#2	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.	108
#3	ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse	93
#4	Seiko Instruments Inc.	45
#5	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.	36
#6	Montres Breguet S.A.	16
#7	Garmin Switzerland GmbH	9
#8	Timex Group USA, Inc.	8
#9	Nivarox-FAR S.A.	6
#10	J.J. Mackay Canada Limited	6
#11	SII Crystal Technology Inc.	5
#12	Harry Winston SA	4
#13	EM Microelectronic-Marin SA	4
#14	Richemont International SA	3
#15	RFMicron, Inc.	3
#16	Vision Works IP Corporation	3
#17	Reliance Controls Corporation	3
#18	Pictiva Displays International Limited	3
#19	Preciflex SA	3
#20	Princo Middle East FZE	3

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G04C 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 G04C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G04C's 1,040-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G04C (#456 of 670 by volume ; lead share 14.1%) - not the G04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B25G 1,041 C09G 1,039 A43D 1,044 B31F 1,044

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F03D 14.2% F05D 14.1% G11C 14.1% A24F 14.1%

Questions about G04C

Which company holds the most patents in G04C?

Seiko Epson Corporation leads G04C with 147 patents (11.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 94% of class grants.

Which G04C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G04C, ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (1.60x: 58 grants in 2019–2021 → 93 in 2022–2024) while holding 93 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G04C compare inside parent class G04?

Inside G04 (Horology), G04C ranks #4 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 12.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G04G (2,450 grants).

What to do with this data

G04C in context - here's where to go next.

The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd leads G04C with 122 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G04C ranks #456 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 - G04C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,040 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.