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CPC Subgroup
A61F 11/20

Ear surgery

Full Title

Methods or devices for treatment of the ears or hearing sense (implantable prostheses that substitute or replace internal ear parts, e.g. ear-drums, A61F2/18; methods or devices to cause a change in the state of auditory consciousness A61M21/00; electrotherapy applying electrical stimulation of the auditory system, or circuits therefor A61N1/36; radiotherapy using optical stimulation of the auditory system A61N5/06; electro-acoustic hearing aids H04R25/00); Non-electric hearing aids; Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense; Protective devices for the ears, carried on the body or in the hand (headwear, e.g. caps or helmets, with means for protecting the ears A42B1/0188, A42B3/16) > Ear surgery

Filing statistics

CPC A61F 11/20 belongs to the parent subclass A61F, which recorded 314,652 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings declined from 25,920 in 2013 to 21,354 in 2023 (-18%), peaking at 33,334 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class A61 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (20,621 applications), NOVARTIS (15,792 applications) and ROCHE (14,303 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

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Child Classifications

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Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A61, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 20,621
  2. NOVARTIS CH 15,792
  3. ROCHE CH 14,303
  4. COVIDIEN US 13,862
  5. HARVARD UNIVERSITY US 13,454
  6. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 12,798
  7. P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 12,140
  8. L'OREAL FR 11,800
  9. OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 9,894
  10. BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED US 9,513