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CPC Subclass Not Allocatable
B41B

MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRIC COMPOSING DEVICES (photographic devices in general G03)

Description

B41B encompasses machinery and equipment for the complete manufacturing and handling workflow of typographic characters, including type casting, setting, spacing, and sorting systems. It covers mechanical type composition devices, photocomposition systems, and photoelectronic typesetting equipment used in traditional and modern printing preparation. This subclass also includes the physical type characters themselves and auxiliary apparatus for type distribution and management. Related printing processes and the actual printing machines themselves fall under adjacent B41 subclasses rather than B41B.

14 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class B41, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 8,446
  2. SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION JP 8,438
  3. HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY US 7,828
  4. CANON JP 5,419
  5. CANON 4,156
  6. BROTHER INDUSTRIES JP 3,763
  7. BROTHER INDUSTRIES 2,779
  8. RICOH COMPANY JP 2,717
  9. FUJIFILM JP 2,423
  10. RICOH COMPANY 1,739