PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G04

G04D - Apparatus OR Tools Specially Designed FOR Making OR Maint…

Apparatus or tools specially designed for making or maintaining clocks or watches. 303 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

303
US patents granted
G04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+74%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Apparatus OR Tools Specially Designed FOR Making OR Maint… ranks #584 of 670 CPC technology areas - 303 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 74% over five years.

#584
of 670 CPC technology areas
303
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Swatch Group Rese…
leading assignee (64)
+74%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Swatch Group Research And Development Ltd (64 patents)

CPC subclass G04D - APPARATUS OR TOOLS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MAKING OR MAINTAINING CLOCKS OR WATCHES - covers 303 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class G04 (HOROLOGY). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in G04D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Swatch Group Research And Development Ltd leads with 64 patents, followed by Nivarox-far S.a. at 45 grants and ETA Sa Manufacture Horlogère Suisse at 38.

Filing activity in G04D is up 74% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is G04D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in G04D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 74% versus 2015–2019.

102030405060 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 27

Who leads G04D?

The 12 most active assignees in APPARATUS OR TOOLS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MAKING OR MAINTAINING CLOCKS OR WATCHES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Swatch Group Rese… is the most active filer in G04D, holding 64 of the 303 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 G04D
Rank Company Patents in G04D
#1 The Swatch Group Research And Development Ltd 64
#2 Nivarox-far S.a. 45
#3 ETA Sa Manufacture Horlogère Suisse 38
#4 Rolex Sa 18
#5 Comadur Sa 17
#6 Montres Breguet S.a. 14
#7 Omega Sa 11
#8 Patek Philippe Sa Geneve 8
#9 CSEM Centre Suisse D'electronique ET DE Microtechnique Sa—recherche ET Développement 7
#10 Blancpain Sa 6
#11 Universo S.a. 4
#12 Master Dynamic Limited 2
#13 Harry Winston Sa 1
#14 Cartier International Ag 1
#15 Richemont International Sa 1
#16 LVMH Swiss Manufactures Sa 1
#17 Se-kure Controls, Inc. 1
#18 Timex Group USA, Inc. 1
#19 MECO Sa 1
#20 Manufacture D'horlogerie Audemars Piguet Sa 1

About This Class

CPC subclass G04D belongs to class G04.

303 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 G04D 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 G04D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 G04D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 -20020406080 Patents in G04D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Swatch Group Rese…Nivarox-farEta Manufacture Horlo…RolexComadurMontres BreguetOmegaPatek Philippe GeneveCsem Centre Suisse D'…BlancpainUniversoMaster DynamicHarry WinstonCartier International
Top 14 G04D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class G04D?
CPC subclass G04D covers APPARATUS OR TOOLS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MAKING OR MAINTAINING CLOCKS OR WATCHES. It belongs to CPC class G04 (HOROLOGY), with 303 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in G04D?
303 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass G04D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in G04D?
The Swatch Group Research And Development Ltd leads G04D with 64 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for G04D 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., G04) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like G04D 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.