PlainPatent

CPC technology class · H04

H04H - Broadcast Communication

Broadcast communication. 5,838 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

5,838
US patents granted
H04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-36%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Broadcast Communication ranks #239 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,838 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 36% over five years.

#239
of 670 CPC technology areas
5,838
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Nielsen (Us)
leading assignee (484)
-36%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Nielsen Company (us), Llc (484 patents)

CPC subclass H04H - BROADCAST COMMUNICATION - covers 5,838 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class H04 (ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in H04H is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Nielsen Company (us), Llc leads with 484 patents, followed by Saturn Licensing Llc at 153 grants and AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.p. at 142.

Filing activity in H04H is down 36% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is H04H innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in H04H, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 36% versus 2015–2019.

02004006008001,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 175

Who leads H04H?

The 12 most active assignees in BROADCAST COMMUNICATION - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Nielsen (Us) is the most active filer in H04H, holding 484 of the 5,838 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass H04H
Rank Company Patents in H04H
#1 The Nielsen Company (us), Llc 484
#2 Saturn Licensing Llc 153
#3 AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.p. 142
#4 Sonos, Inc. 113
#5 Iheart Media Management Services, Inc. 94
#6 Yamaha Corporation 88
#7 Comcast Cable Communications, Llc 83
#8 Rovi Guides, Inc. 56
#9 Gracenote, Inc. 56
#10 Directv, Llc 55
#11 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 52
#12 Maxlinear, Inc. 50
#13 Ibiquity Digital Corporation 50
#14 Fedex Corporate Services Inc. 46
#15 Arris Enterprises Llc 45
#16 Sirius XM Radio Inc. 45
#17 Maxell, Ltd. 42
#18 TIME Warner Cable Enterprises Llc 41
#19 Cortica Ltd. 38
#20 Echostar Technologies L.l.c. 34

About This Class

CPC subclass H04H belongs to class H04.

5,838 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading H04H 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 H04H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 H04H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 01020304050 0100200300400500600 Patents in H04H Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Nielsen (Us)Saturn LicensingAt&T Intellectual Pro…Sonosiheart Media Manageme…YamahaComcast Cable Communi…Rovi GuidesGracenoteDirectvTurner Broadcasting S…Maxlinearibiquity DigitalFedex Corporate Servi…
Top 14 H04H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class H04H?
CPC subclass H04H covers BROADCAST COMMUNICATION. It belongs to CPC class H04 (ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE), with 5,838 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in H04H?
5,838 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass H04H between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in H04H?
The Nielsen Company (us), Llc leads H04H with 484 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for H04H collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., H04) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like H04H provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

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.