G16 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
Description
G16 encompasses information and communication technology systems and methods developed for specialized application domains beyond general computing. This class covers ICT solutions tailored to specific industries and sectors such as healthcare, finance, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and scientific research, where domain-specific requirements drive the technical design. It includes software architectures, data management systems, communication protocols, and digital tools customized for particular operational contexts rather than general-purpose computing applications. G16 excludes fundamental ICT technologies classified in G06 (computing, data processing) and G08 (signaling systems), focusing instead on the intersection of ICT with sector-specific technical challenges.
Filing statistics
CPC G16 recorded 389,999 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 5 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 17,753 in 2013 to 51,232 in 2023 (+189%), peaking at 52,928 applications in 2021. The most active applicants in class G16 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (7,379 applications), SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (2,740 applications) and IBM (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION) (2,388 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
5 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- G16B BIOINFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR GENETIC OR PROTEIN-RELATED DATA PROCESSING IN COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
- G16C COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY; CHEMOINFORMATICS; COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE
- G16H HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- G16Y INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS [IoT]
- G16Z INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filings, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 7,379
- SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 2,740
- IBM (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION) US 2,388
- PHILIPS ELECTRONICS 1,849
- SIEMENS HEALTHCARE DE 1,697
- FUJIFILM JP 1,618
- ILLUMINA US 1,335
- ROCHE CH 1,264
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 1,181
- DEXCOM US 1,150