PlainPatent

CPC technology class · H04

H04S - Stereophonic Systems

Stereophonic systems. 7,918 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

7,918
US patents granted
H04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+47%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Stereophonic Systems ranks #195 of 670 CPC technology areas - 7,918 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 47% over five years.

#195
of 670 CPC technology areas
7,918
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Dolby Laboratories Li…
leading assignee (622)
+47%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (622 patents)

CPC subclass H04S - STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS - covers 7,918 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 H04S is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation leads with 622 patents, followed by Sonos, Inc. at 373 grants and Dolby International AB at 358.

Filing activity in H04S is up 47% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is H04S innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in H04S, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 47% versus 2015–2019.

2004006008001,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 623

Who leads H04S?

The 12 most active assignees in STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Dolby Laboratories Li… is the most active filer in H04S, holding 622 of the 7,918 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 H04S
Rank Company Patents in H04S
#1 Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation 622
#2 Sonos, Inc. 373
#3 Dolby International AB 358
#4 Nokia Technologies OY 349
#5 Fraunhofer-gesellschaft Zur Förderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.v. 278
#6 Bose Corporation 148
#7 Harman International Industries, Incorporated 140
#8 Yamaha Corporation 140
#9 Magic Leap, Inc. 129
#10 Facebook Technologies, Llc 91
#11 DTS, Inc. 84
#12 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. 65
#13 Meta Platforms Technologies, Llc 59
#14 Harman Becker Automotive Systems Gmbh 53
#15 Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. 51
#16 Shenzhen Shokz Co., Ltd. 43
#17 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. 42
#18 Creative Technology Corporation 41
#19 Biamp Systems, Llc 35
#20 Boomcloud 360 Inc. 34

About This Class

CPC subclass H04S belongs to class H04.

7,918 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 H04S 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 H04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 H04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 101214161820 0200400600800 Patents in H04S Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Dolby Laboratories Li…SonosDolby International AbNokia OyFraunhofer-gesellscha…BoseHarman International…YamahaMagic LeapFacebookDtsSony Interactive Ente…Meta PlatformsHarman Becker Automot…
Top 14 H04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in H04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class H04S?
CPC subclass H04S covers STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS. It belongs to CPC class H04 (ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE), with 7,918 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in H04S?
7,918 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass H04S between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in H04S?
Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation leads H04S with 622 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for H04S 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 H04S 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.