CPC technology class · G10
G10K - Sound-producing Devices
Sound-producing devices; methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general; acoustics not otherwise provided for. 7,488 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.
- 7,488
- US patents granted
- #2/8
- in G10
- 15.7%
- G10 class share
- +26%
- 5-yr velocity
The verdict
According to USPTO PatentsView, Sound-producing Devices ranks #199 of 670 CPC technology areas - 7,488 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 26% over five years.
- #199
- of 670 CPC technology areas
- 7,488
- US patents granted, 2015–2025
- Bose
- leading assignee (267)
- +26%
- grant velocity, last 5 yrs
How G10K's grant cadence moved
Between 2020–2024, G10K recorded 3,647 grants versus 2,890 in 2015–2019 (+26% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2023 at 819 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 449 (+82% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Bose Corporation holds 3.6% of the class ; the top three share 6.6%.
Leaderboard read
G10K concentration, lead at 3.6%
Bose Corporation leads this historical grant record at 3.6% of G10K - us corporation assignees hold 55% of class grants (1,611 of 2,931). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.
- Leader's share
- 3.6%
- Top three share
- 6.6%
- Lead over #2
- 130
267 of 7,488 grants
of the class's recorded grants
more grants than Cirrus Logic, Inc.
Where G10K sits inside G10
Among 8 subclasses in G10 (Musical INSTRUMENTS; Acoustics), G10K ranks #2 and holds 15.7% 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.
Rising assignees active in G10K
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 Shenzhen Shokz Co., Ltd. 288x 0 → 288 company-wide · 66 in G10K
- #2 Fujifilm Healthcare Corporation 116x 0 → 116 company-wide · 5 in G10K
- #3 Navico, Inc. 38x 0 → 38 company-wide · 12 in G10K
- #4 Zoom Video Communications, Inc. 29x 13 → 380 company-wide · 5 in G10K
- #5 Gold Bond Building Products, LLC 25x 1 → 25 company-wide · 9 in G10K
G10K grants by year, peak 2023 (819)
US utility-patent grants per year in G10K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 26% versus 2015–2019.
Who leads G10K?
The 12 most active assignees in Sound-producing DEVICES; Methods OR Devices FOR Protecting Against, OR FOR Damping, Noise OR Other Acoustic Waves IN GENERAL; Acoustics NOT Otherwise Provided FOR - wider bars mean more grants
- Bose
Bose Corporation
267 patents
- Cirrus Logic
Cirrus Logic, Inc.
137 patents
- Harman International… 90
Harman International Industries, Incorporated
90 patents
- Shenzhen Shokz 66
Shenzhen Shokz Co., Ltd.
66 patents
- Yamaha 65
Yamaha Corporation
65 patents
- Harman Becker… 64
Harman Becker Automotive Systems GMBH
64 patents
- Rohr 52
Rohr, Inc.
52 patents
- Dolby Laboratories… 43
Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
43 patents
- Samsung Medison 34
Samsung Medison Co., Ltd.
34 patents
- xmems Labs 32
xMEMS Labs, Inc.
32 patents
- ubeam 29
uBeam Inc.
29 patents
- Avnera 27
Avnera Corporation
27 patents
What this shows Bose is the most active filer in G10K, holding 267 of the 7,488 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 G10K |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bose Corporation | 267 |
| #2 | Cirrus Logic, Inc. | 137 |
| #3 | Harman International Industries, Incorporated | 90 |
| #4 | Shenzhen Shokz Co., Ltd. | 66 |
| #5 | Yamaha Corporation | 65 |
| #6 | Harman Becker Automotive Systems GMBH | 64 |
| #7 | Rohr, Inc. | 52 |
| #8 | Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation | 43 |
| #9 | Samsung Medison Co., Ltd. | 34 |
| #10 | xMEMS Labs, Inc. | 32 |
| #11 | uBeam Inc. | 29 |
| #12 | Avnera Corporation | 27 |
| #13 | Sonos, Inc. | 24 |
| #14 | Goertek Inc. | 24 |
| #15 | Plantronics, Inc. | 23 |
| #16 | Ultrahaptics IP Ltd | 23 |
| #17 | Eberspächer Exhaust Technology GmbH | 22 |
| #18 | Fujifilm Sonosite, Inc. | 21 |
| #19 | Light Field Lab, Inc. | 21 |
| #20 | Sound United, LLC | 21 |
Footprint here vs. claim strategy
Each dot is a leading G10K 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 G10K's 7,488-grant footprint
Nationwide nearest neighbors for G10K (#199 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.6%) - not the G10 parent-class siblings above.
Nearest by grant volume
Questions about G10K
Which company holds the most patents in G10K?
Which G10K assignees grew fastest recently?
How does G10K compare inside parent class G10?
What to do with this data
G10K in context - here's where to go next.
- Bose Corporation leads G10K with 267 grants in this class. See full portfolio
- G10K ranks #199 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 - G10K figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (7,488 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.