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CPC Subclass Not Allocatable
G01C

MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)

Description

G01C encompasses instruments and methods for determining spatial relationships and positioning information essential to surveying, navigation, and mapping applications. This subclass covers distance measurement technologies (ranging, leveling), bearing and direction determination (compasses, gyroscopes), navigation systems (inertial, satellite-based), and image-based positioning techniques (photogrammetry, videogrammetry). The classification includes both traditional surveying equipment and modern electronic/digital systems for geolocation, route guidance, and spatial data acquisition across terrestrial, marine, and aerial domains.

Filing statistics

CPC subclass G01C recorded 209,282 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 10,514 in 2013 to 21,940 in 2023 (+109%), peaking at 23,864 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class G01 are CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (21,460 applications), ROBERT BOSCH (17,801 applications) and SGCC(STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA) (17,347 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

14 direct subcodes

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Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class G01, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 21,460
  2. ROBERT BOSCH DE 17,801
  3. SGCC(STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA) 17,347
  4. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 13,192
  5. QUALCOMM US 9,900
  6. HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES GROUP US 9,742
  7. PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 7,249
  8. MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION JP 6,503
  9. ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY 6,414
  10. DENSO CORPORATION JP 6,382