CPC technology class · G09
G09C - Ciphering Or Deciphering Apparatus For Cryptographic Or O…
Ciphering or deciphering apparatus for cryptographic or other purposes involving the need for secrecy. 2,112 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.
- 2,112
- US patents granted
- #4/5
- in G09
- 2.4%
- G09 class share
- +4%
- 5-yr velocity
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, Ciphering Or Deciphering Apparatus For Cryptographic Or O… ranks #364 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,112 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 4% over five years.
- #364
- of 670 CPC technology areas
- 2,112
- US patents granted, 2015–2025
- Intel
- leading assignee (141)
- +4%
- grant velocity, last 5 yrs
How G09C's grant cadence moved
Between 2020–2024, G09C recorded 998 grants versus 958 in 2015–2019 (+4% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 278 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 109 (+155% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation holds 3.5% of the class ; the top three share 6.2%.
Leaderboard read
G09C concentration, lead at 3.5%
Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation leads this historical grant record at 3.5% of G09C - foreign corporation assignees hold 51% of class grants (370 of 721). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.
- Leader's share
- 3.5%
- Top three share
- 6.2%
- Lead over #2
- 42
74 of 2,112 grants
of the class's recorded grants
more grants than Ictk Holdings Co., Ltd.
Where G09C sits inside G09
Among 5 subclasses in G09 (EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; Seals), G09C ranks #4 and holds 2.4% of the parent class's 88,033 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.
Rising assignees active in G09C
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 Equity Shift, Inc. 5.50x 4 → 22 company-wide · 10 in G09C
- #2 Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation 4.70x 450 → 2,116 company-wide · 74 in G09C
- #3 Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of Northern Arizona University 1.69x 29 → 49 company-wide · 7 in G09C
- #4 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. 1.68x 22 → 37 company-wide · 5 in G09C
- #5 Quantum Base Limited 1.40x 5 → 7 company-wide · 6 in G09C
G09C grants by year, peak 2019 (278)
US utility-patent grants per year in G09C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 4% versus 2015–2019.
Who leads G09C?
The 12 most active assignees in Ciphering OR Deciphering Apparatus FOR Cryptographic OR Other Purposes Involving THE Need FOR Secrecy - wider bars mean more grants
- Nippon Telegraph And…
Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation
74 patents
- Ictk Holdings
Ictk Holdings Co., Ltd.
32 patents
- Stmicroelectronics… 24
STMicroelectronics (Rousset) SAS
24 patents
- Cryptography Research 21
Cryptography Research, Inc.
21 patents
- Altera 20
Altera Corporation
20 patents
- Alibaba Group Holding 15
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
15 patents
- Lexmark International 13
Lexmark International, Inc.
13 patents
- Data I/O 12
Data I/O Corporation
12 patents
- Enveil 12
Enveil, Inc.
12 patents
- Eshard 12
Eshard
12 patents
- Macronix International 10
Macronix International Co., Ltd.
10 patents
- Equity Shift 10
Equity Shift, Inc.
10 patents
What this shows Intel is the most active filer in G09C, holding 141 of the 2,112 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.
View data table
| Rank | Company | Patents in G09C |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation | 74 |
| #2 | Ictk Holdings Co., Ltd. | 32 |
| #3 | STMicroelectronics (Rousset) SAS | 24 |
| #4 | Cryptography Research, Inc. | 21 |
| #5 | Altera Corporation | 20 |
| #6 | Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 15 |
| #7 | Lexmark International, Inc. | 13 |
| #8 | Data I/O Corporation | 12 |
| #9 | Enveil, Inc. | 12 |
| #10 | Eshard | 12 |
| #11 | Macronix International Co., Ltd. | 10 |
| #12 | Equity Shift, Inc. | 10 |
| #13 | Advanced New Technologies Co., Ltd. | 9 |
| #14 | McAfee, LLC | 9 |
| #15 | CoPilot Ventures Fund III LLC | 9 |
| #16 | Cord3 Innovation Inc. | 9 |
| #17 | Visa International Service Association | 8 |
| #18 | CA, Inc. | 8 |
| #19 | Alpvision S.A. | 8 |
| #20 | Ballet Global Inc. | 8 |
Footprint here vs. claim strategy
Each dot is a leading G09C 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.
Classes near G09C's 2,112-grant footprint
Nationwide nearest neighbors for G09C (#364 of 670 by volume ; lead share 6.7%) - not the G09 parent-class siblings above.
Nearest by grant volume
Questions about G09C
Which company holds the most patents in G09C?
Which G09C assignees grew fastest recently?
How does G09C compare inside parent class G09?
What to do with this data
G09C in context - here's where to go next.
- Nippon Telegraph AND Telephone Corporation leads G09C with 74 grants in this class. See full portfolio
- G09C ranks #364 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
- Inside parent class G09, the largest sibling subclass is G09G with 62,527 grants. Explore G09G
Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.
Methodology - G09C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,112 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.