CPC technology class · G04

G04G - Electronic Time-pieces

Electronic time-pieces. 2,450 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

2,450
US patents granted: #1/6
in G04: 29.9%
G04 class share: +14%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Electronic Time-pieces ranks #348 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,450 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 14% over five years.

#348
of 670 CPC technology areas: 2,450
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Apple
leading assignee (328): +14%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G04G's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G04G recorded 1,191 grants versus 1,048 in 2015–2019 (+14% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 282 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 135 (+109% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Casio Computer Co., Ltd. holds 7.4% of the class ; the top three share 12.7%.

Leaderboard read

G04G concentration, lead at 7.4%

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 7.4% of G04G - foreign corporation assignees hold 79% of class grants (525 of 666). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 7.4%
Top three share: 12.7%
Lead over #2: 110

Where G04G sits inside G04

Among 6 subclasses in G04 (Horology), G04G ranks #1 and holds 29.9% 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.

G04B 2,356 G04F 1,418 G04C 1,040 G04R 623 G04D 303

Rising assignees active in G04G

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 Ouraring Inc. 14x 0 → 14 company-wide · 26 in G04G
#2 Tissot SA 7.50x 2 → 15 company-wide · 14 in G04G
#3 Watch Skins Corporation 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 6 in G04G
#4 ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse 1.60x 58 → 93 company-wide · 57 in G04G
#5 Omega SA 1.35x 34 → 46 company-wide · 13 in G04G

G04G grants by year, peak 2019 (282)

US utility-patent grants per year in G04G, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 14% versus 2015–2019.

Casio Computer

182
The Swatch Group…

72
Eta Manufacture…

57
Seiko Instruments

27
Ouraring

26
Citizen Watch

21
Garmin Switzerland

15
Tissot

14
Omega

13
Goertek

12
West View Research

10
Flexterra

9

What this shows Apple is the most active filer in G04G, holding 328 of the 2,450 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 G04G
Rank	Company	Patents in G04G
#1	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.	182
#2	The Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd	72
#3	ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse	57
#4	Seiko Instruments Inc.	27
#5	Ouraring Inc.	26
#6	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.	21
#7	Garmin Switzerland GmbH	15
#8	Tissot SA	14
#9	Omega SA	13
#10	Goertek Inc.	12
#11	West View Research, LLC	10
#12	Flexterra, Inc.	9
#13	Timex Group USA, Inc.	9
#14	Motiv NV	8
#15	Suunto Oy	7
#16	Solomon Systems, Inc.	7
#17	Polar Electro Oy	6
#18	DP Technologies, Inc.	6
#19	J.J. Mackay Canada Limited	6
#20	Anexa Labs LLC	6

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G04G 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 G04G assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04G. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G04G's 2,450-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G04G (#348 of 670 by volume ; lead share 13.4%) - not the G04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B26B 2,460 G21C 2,434 A42B 2,474 C09C 2,483

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C11D 13.4% E02F 13.3% B64C 13.2% A41F 13.6%

Questions about G04G

Which company holds the most patents in G04G?

Apple Inc. leads G04G with 328 patents (7.4% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 79% of class grants.

Which G04G assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G04G, Ouraring Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (14x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 14 in 2022–2024) while holding 26 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G04G compare inside parent class G04?

Inside G04 (Horology), G04G ranks #1 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 29.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G04B (2,356 grants).

What to do with this data

G04G in context - here's where to go next.

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. leads G04G with 182 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G04G ranks #348 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class G04, the largest sibling subclass is G04B with 2,356 grants. Explore G04B

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

Methodology - G04G figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,450 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.