CPC technology class · G10

G10D - Stringed Musical Instruments

Stringed musical instruments; wind musical instruments; accordions or concertinas; percussion musical instruments; aeolian harps; singing-flame musical instruments; musical instruments not otherwise provided for. 828 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

828
US patents granted: #4/8
in G10: 1.7%
G10 class share: -24%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Stringed Musical Instruments ranks #479 of 670 CPC technology areas - 828 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 24% over five years.

#479
of 670 CPC technology areas: 828
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Yamaha
leading assignee (79): -24%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G10D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G10D recorded 335 grants versus 439 in 2015–2019 (-24% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2016 at 96 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 52 (+85% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Yamaha Corporation holds 9.5% of the class ; the top three share 17.8%.

Leaderboard read

G10D concentration, lead at 9.5%

Yamaha Corporation leads this historical grant record at 9.5% of G10D - us corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (233 of 440). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 9.5%
Top three share: 17.8%
Lead over #2: 42

Where G10D sits inside G10

Among 8 subclasses in G10 (Musical INSTRUMENTS; Acoustics), G10D ranks #4 and holds 1.7% of the parent class's 47,643 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G10L 35,471 G10K 7,488 G10H 3,197 G10G 395 G10C 183 G10F 54 G10B 27

Rising assignees active in G10D

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 Reliance International Corp. 7.00x 1 → 7 company-wide · 7 in G10D
#2 Ciari Guitars, Inc. 4.33x 3 → 13 company-wide · 19 in G10D
#3 Larsen Strings A/S 3.00x 0 → 3 company-wide · 5 in G10D
#4 Roland Corporation 2.06x 50 → 103 company-wide · 37 in G10D
#5 Remo, Inc. 2.00x 1 → 2 company-wide · 7 in G10D

G10D grants by year, peak 2016 (96)

US utility-patent grants per year in G10D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 24% versus 2015–2019.

Yamaha

79
Roland

37
Drum Workshop

31
Hoshino Gakki

20
Ciari Guitars

19
Randall May Internatio…

17
D'addario &

15
Pearl Musical…

14
Fender Musical…

9
Taylor-listug

9
Playcore Wisconsin

8
Jim Melhart Piano and…

8

What this shows Yamaha is the most active filer in G10D, holding 79 of the 828 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 G10D
Rank	Company	Patents in G10D
#1	Yamaha Corporation	79
#2	Roland Corporation	37
#3	Drum Workshop, Inc.	31
#4	Hoshino Gakki Co., Ltd.	20
#5	Ciari Guitars, Inc.	19
#6	Randall May International Incorporated	17
#7	D'Addario & Company, Inc.	15
#8	Pearl Musical Instrument Company	14
#9	Fender Musical Instruments Corporation	9
#10	Taylor-listug, Inc	9
#11	Playcore Wisconsin, Inc.	8
#12	Jim Melhart Piano and Organ Company	8
#13	MCP IP, LLC	7
#14	inMusic Brands, Inc.	7
#15	Music Nomad, LLC	7
#16	K.H.S. Musical Instrument Co., Ltd.	7
#17	Reliance International Corp.	7
#18	Remo, Inc.	7
#19	Advanced Plating, Inc.	7
#20	Rovner Products Incorporated	6

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G10D 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 G10D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G10D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G10D's 828-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G10D (#479 of 670 by volume ; lead share 9.5%) - not the G10 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B21F 817 B23H 839 F02G 812 B61F 797

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B24D 9.5% F24C 9.6% B64B 9.6% F01B 9.7%

Questions about G10D

Which company holds the most patents in G10D?

Yamaha Corporation leads G10D with 79 patents (9.5% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 53% of class grants.

Which G10D assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G10D, Reliance International Corp. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (7.00x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 7 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does G10D compare inside parent class G10?

Inside G10 (Musical INSTRUMENTS; Acoustics), G10D ranks #4 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 1.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G10L (35,471 grants).

What to do with this data

G10D in context - here's where to go next.

Yamaha Corporation leads G10D with 79 grants in this class. See full portfolio
G10D ranks #479 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class G10, the largest sibling subclass is G10L with 35,471 grants. Explore G10L

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

Methodology - G10D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (828 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.