HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING

Description

B26 encompasses hand-operated cutting and severing tools, including knives, scissors, shears, saws, and similar manual implements designed for cutting materials such as paper, textiles, wood, and metal. The class covers the design and construction of cutting blades, handles, fastening mechanisms, and the functional principles underlying manual cutting operations. Related processes such as shearing, slicing, and severing by hand tools are included, along with specialized applications like hedge trimming, grass cutting, and food preparation. This class excludes powered cutting equipment and machine tools, which fall under other mechanical operation classifications.

Filing statistics

IPC B26 recorded 344,653 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 3 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 11,713 in 2013 to 47,222 in 2023 (+303%), peaking at 51,086 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class B26 are GILLETTE COMPANY (1,650 applications), PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (1,359 applications) and BIC-VIOLEX (618 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings