CPC technology class · G04

G04R - Radio-controlled Time-pieces

Radio-controlled time-pieces. 623 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

623
US patents granted: #5/6
in G04: 7.6%
G04 class share: -14%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Radio-controlled Time-pieces ranks #516 of 670 CPC technology areas - 623 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 14% over five years.

#516
of 670 CPC technology areas: 623
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Seiko Epson
leading assignee (156): -14%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G04R's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G04R recorded 267 grants versus 312 in 2015–2019 (-14% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2017 at 67 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 45 (+49% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Casio Computer Co., Ltd. holds 17.0% of the class ; the top three share 20.9%.

Leaderboard read

G04R concentration, lead at 17.0%

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 17.0% of G04R - foreign corporation assignees hold 93% of class grants (170 of 183). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 17.0%
Top three share: 20.9%
Lead over #2: 94

Where G04R sits inside G04

Among 6 subclasses in G04 (Horology), G04R ranks #5 and holds 7.6% 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 G04C 1,040 G04D 303

Rising assignees active in G04R

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 · 12 in G04R
#2 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. 0.53x 660 → 348 company-wide · 106 in G04R
#3 Garmin Switzerland GmbH 0.49x 103 → 51 company-wide · 7 in G04R
#4 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. 0.44x 191 → 84 company-wide · 12 in G04R
#5 SII Crystal Technology Inc. 0.33x 3 → 1 company-wide · 10 in G04R

G04R grants by year, peak 2017 (67)

US utility-patent grants per year in G04R, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 14% versus 2015–2019.

Casio Computer

106
Citizen Watch

12
Eta Manufacture…

12
Sii Crystal Technology

10
Garmin Switzerland

7
Citizen Holdings

6
Timex Group Usa

4
Princo

4
Suunto Oy

3
u-blox

2
Enlighted

2
Seiko Clock

2

What this shows Seiko Epson is the most active filer in G04R, holding 156 of the 623 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 G04R
Rank	Company	Patents in G04R
#1	Casio Computer Co., Ltd.	106
#2	Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.	12
#3	ETA SA Manufacture HORLOGÈRE Suisse	12
#4	SII Crystal Technology Inc.	10
#5	Garmin Switzerland GmbH	7
#6	Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.	6
#7	Timex Group USA, Inc.	4
#8	Princo Corp.	4
#9	Suunto Oy	3
#10	u-blox AG	2
#11	Enlighted, Inc.	2
#12	Seiko Clock Inc.	2
#13	SOLiD, Inc.	1
#14	Anhui Huami Information Technology Co., Ltd.	1
#15	Black Sesame Technologies Inc.	1
#16	Skylo Technologies, Inc.	1
#17	Airspan Networks Inc.	1
#18	iPosi, Inc.	1
#19	Shenzhen Amazwear Technology Co., Ltd.	1
#20	Galtronics USA, Inc.	1

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G04R 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 G04R assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G04R. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G04R's 623-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G04R (#516 of 670 by volume ; lead share 25.0%) - not the G04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B67B 619 G21G 629 E01D 612 B03D 611

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A63G 25.0% H10K 24.6% D06F 25.6% A01H 25.9%

Questions about G04R

Which company holds the most patents in G04R?

Seiko Epson Corporation leads G04R with 156 patents (17.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 93% of class grants.

Which G04R assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G04R, 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 12 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G04R compare inside parent class G04?

Inside G04 (Horology), G04R ranks #5 of 6 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.6% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G04G (2,450 grants).

What to do with this data

G04R in context - here's where to go next.

Casio Computer Co., Ltd. leads G04R with 106 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G04R ranks #516 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 - G04R figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (623 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.