H04 ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
Description
H04 – ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE This class encompasses the technical and engineering aspects of electrical communication systems, including signal transmission, reception, and processing across various media and frequencies. It covers wire-based communication (telephony, telegraphy, data transmission), wireless communication (radio, microwave, satellite), optical communication, and associated infrastructure such as switching, routing, and network control systems. The class includes technologies for analog and digital signal modulation, coding, multiplexing, and error detection/correction, as well as the hardware and methods for establishing and maintaining communication links. Adjacent classes within the broader electrical field provide related coverage of power distribution (H02), lighting (H05B), and specific electronic components used in communication systems.
Filing statistics
CPC H04 recorded 4,643,483 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 12 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 315,109 in 2013 to 391,152 in 2023 (+24%), peaking at 502,664 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class H04 are HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY (101,476 applications), QUALCOMM (101,139 applications) and SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (96,655 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
12 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- H04B TRANSMISSION
- H04H BROADCAST COMMUNICATION (multiplex communication H04J; pictorial communication aspects of broadcast systems H04N)
- H04J MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATION (transmission in general H04B; peculiar to transmission of digital information H04L5/00; systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal H04N7/08; in exchanges H04Q11/00; stereophonic systems H04S)
- H04K SECRET COMMUNICATION; JAMMING OF COMMUNICATION
- H04L TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04M TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- H04N PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04Q SELECTING (switches, relays, selectors H01H; wireless communication networks H04W)
- H04R LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K)
- H04S STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS
- H04T INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH CLASS H04, RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filings, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY CN 101,476
- QUALCOMM US 101,139
- SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 96,655
- TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) SE 57,744
- LG ELECTRONICS KR 55,253
- HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY 54,181
- SONY CORPORATION JP 35,309
- ZTE CORPORATION CN 32,950
- INTEL CORPORATION US 27,533
- GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION CN 27,498